A Chance to Change Fate
by HypnotoadServant
Summary: Kallen is given the chance to change history and save Lelouch from himself. // Kallen x Lelouch, retelling of later part of R2.
1. Reflection

Lelouch the Demon Emperor was killed by Zero – by Suzaku. Kallen knew the moment the figure of Zero appeared in front of the procession what those two were up to, but that didn't make it any less painful to watch. When it was all said and done, she had noticed Tohdoh trying to rationalize who the person on the mask was. He had trained Suzaku, after all, so it was no surprise. Though she didn't want to say it, she acknowledged Suzaku as Zero for that brief moment, if only to honor Lelouch. Once they were freed from their restraints, however, she left without a word, unable to bring herself to participate in what she knew to be one big charade.

Kallen was thankful when their Knightmares were tracked down three days later. It would take her mind off Lelouch, or so she had thought. They had been stored in a series of warehouses on the docks. Though they had been collected, no effort had been made to repair them. Many of the Akatsuki units were missing limbs, riddled with bullet holes, or otherwise inoperable. Kallen found her Guren facing the door in the last warehouse. It was exactly as she had left it, short both arms, both wings, and its head. The damaged radiant surge arm, at least, had been recovered and left by its side. What caught her attention was the fact that the cockpit was open; she hadn't left it that way as she recalled.

Curious, she climbed into the cockpit, and on the seat she found a small wooden box. "Q1" had been carved onto the lid, making it obvious as to who had left it. She picked up the box and opened it slowly, wary as to what it could contain. Within the box, she found two chess pieces, the black king and the black queen, arranged side by side. They were glued to a white cardboard square, holding them in place – clearly Lelouch had wanted to preserve the image. At their "feet" was the Guren's key, carefully wedged in the box so it wouldn't move. Upon working it free, she saw a message written beneath it: "I'm sorry." She gave a weak laugh. Lelouch would have to put so much effort into a simple apology.

Kallen left the cockpit with the box in hand, returning to the car which had brought her to the docks. Her friends asked her about the box, but she refused to explain it.

* * *

Suzaku moved through the relatively small cemetery, working his way toward Lelouch's grave. Nunnally had insisted on giving him a proper burial, though it had to be done in secret to keep people from vandalizing it. The tombstone was also engraved with the name John Dol for that reason, the typo in the last name being the only identifying factor on the otherwise unremarkable grave marker.

Suzaku didn't want to come here. He had killed Lelouch, after all. Even planning it months in advance had not made the act any less difficult or devastating. He only came the first time because Nunnally had. It was Nunnally making him visit this time, too, though not directly.

It was during their fourth meeting in as many days with the Black Knights that he had noticed Kallen, their ace, was never present. When he had asked, they reluctantly admitted that they simply couldn't get her to attend. Moreover, she hadn't so much as spoken to them after they had located their Knightmares. Having failed in every attempt to speak to her, they wanted to enlist his aid. It was Zero she had been loyal to, after all, so maybe he could get her to open up. Suzaku knew better, but Nunnally seconded their idea before he could object, leaving him little choice but to try.

Nunnally had invited Kallen to the small funeral they had held for Lelouch; though she hadn't come, she knew where the grave was, so Suzaku knew where to find her when he tracked her to the cemetery. He stopped once the grave was in sight, and she was there as expected, sitting in front of it and regarding some sort of box in her hands. He approached carefully, not looking forward to how Kallen might react. Once he was about ten feet away, close enough for his footsteps to be heard she spoke up without turning to regard him: "Go away," she said, her voice calm. Undeterred, he closed the distance and sat beside her.

She didn't turn to look at him when he sat down, though her eyes darted over briefly to identify him. "Your friends are worried about you," he offered. "Nunnally is, too." That got her to look up slightly, but she turned back to the box in her hands almost immediately. "They thought you might be willing to talk to me," he said, hesitating slightly before finishing, "since I'm Zero."

Her reaction to the last part was not quite what he expected. "You're not Zero," she said matter-of-factly, her voice still calm. "Besides, it's not Zero I was loyal to. If they haven't figured that out, then it won't help to talk to them yet." Her fingers moved along a groove on the box lid, though Suzaku couldn't make out the entire symbol with her fingers in the way. Before he could respond, she continued, "And if I don't want to talk to them, why would I want to talk to you?" She left the reason for that unspoken, instead conveying it with a slight hint of anger.

From the way she was holding the box, Suzaku decided to poke at what was probably a sensitive issue for her. "You loved him?" She squeezed the box but didn't respond, indicating the correct answer. "Were you two… close?"

"No," she replied. "There was never a chance for us to be. There was always one thing or another getting in the way." She relaxed a bit, setting the box to her side out of his sight. "At first, I think I just wanted Lelouch to trust me. He always trusted C.C., and I wanted that." She laughed, "I suppose that's what got me captured in the Chinese Federation. I wanted to prove I could be just as useful as her and forgot to have the Guren's energy filler replaced." That cleared up a few old questions Suzaku had. He had always wondered how they had captured Kallen, every bit his equal, without even damaging the Guren. "I suppose it's not all bad, though," Kallen continued, "because he rescued me. Not in person, of course, but it was his subordinates, not the Black Knights, which found me." She paused, her expression growing sadder. "Then he lost Nunnally, and everything went downhill from there."

Suzaku was glad he had to wear Zero's mask. It kept her from seeing him winch at that declaration. He had blamed Geass back then, which had made him fire FLEIJA to survive. He wondered what he had been thinking then. If it had hit Kallen, he'd have died with her. Maybe he knew she would dodge and the bomb would make a good distraction. Hindsight only made him feel worse about it.

Kallen spoke up again. "After that, the Black Knights betrayed him. Even I did, when they were willing to kill me with him because they thought he used his Geass to control me." She could not quite disguise the anger in her voice. Suzaku wondered if she was mad at the Black Knights or herself. "He called us pawns – called me a pawn – and so I left him to die. Then he had to give me hope. 'You must live', he said. He was going to die there and the last thing he did was push me away for my own good. Then he vanished, spirited away by whomever was piloting the Shinkirou."

Suzaku could hardly believe it. Such a simple word, "live," and yet when spoken by Lelouch it held amazing power. With that one word Lelouch had cursed Suzaku, forever taking away the atonement he had sought, and with the same word Lelouch gave Kallen hope. It almost made him jealous.

"After Lelouch became the Britannian Emperor," Kallen said, "I didn't know what to do. I wanted to believe in him, but he was with you." That didn't surprise Suzaku much. She had always been Lelouch's protector, and he had taken that from her. "I confronted him when we walked to the meeting with the U.F.N., but he wouldn't even say a word. Even when I kissed him, he just kept that stoic look on his face." Suzaku was surprised by that, but didn't interrupt. "Then you two became the enemies of the world. I was going to stop him, for his sake, but I failed."

"If you had," Suzaku said, "then we would never have been given this chance to move forward."

"Even knowing that," Kallen replied, "I still wish I had."

For what seemed like ten minutes, neither of them said anything. Kallen then stood up and walked over to the tombstone, placing the box in front of it. "Thank you, Suzaku," she said, "for trying."

He couldn't hold back his gasp of surprise. "So you knew?" he replied. He hadn't been sure if the Black Knights had figured it out, since they thought he was dead. Nunnally knew, having somehow learned the plan from Lelouch in his dying moments.

"Of course," Kallen answered. ""Did you really think you could jump around like that and no one would figure it out?" She laughed at her own rhetorical question. "Don't worry, I didn't tell the others." Since there was no one around, Suzaku decided to take off his mask, silently holding it in front of him with the face aimed at his own. "That mask is heavy," Kallen said. "The one who bears it must wears it must bear the entire world on his shoulders."

Suzaku put the mask back on. "That's what I agreed to when I took this from him." Kallen smiled and walked away. Once she walked out of sight, Suzaku's curiosity got the better of him. He picked up the box, immediately noticing "Q1" carved on the lid. "The queen," he mused, "how like Lelouch to name his soldiers after chess pieces." Upon opening it, he was confused at why the box was so large just to hold two chess pieces. He figured there was probably something else in it. Two messages were written on the cardboard in the bottom: "I'm sorry," written in Lelouch's handwriting; and "Thank you," in what he assumed to be Kallen's handwriting. He smiled, placed the box back in front of the grave, and left.

* * *

Six months later, Kallen was coming home late from Ashford, waylaid by a budget meeting with the Student Council. She had left the Black Knights shortly after visiting his grave. He had asked her to come back to Ashford with him in the Chinese Federation, so she had gone back for the both of them.

There was no one on the streets at this time of night. When she was about a block from her home, Kallen noticed strange blue light emanating from a nearby alley, as if there were a loose wire on the ground. She peered around the corner, only to find nothing that could have caused it. As she was about to turn around, however, a bolt of electricity came out of nowhere, striking the ground near her feet. She backed up as more bolts began lashing out from the middle of the alley with no discernable source. Before she could fully wrap her head around the strange phenomenon, the spot the electricity came from exploded in a burst of light, covering the world around her in blinding white.


	2. The Offer

Once the brightness subsided, Kallen moved back to the alley to take a look around. The sparking point was gone now. However, the world around her seemed to be shifting, like looking at a pool of water someone had recently disturbed. Looking up, the shifting surface had a distinct curve to it, forming a sphere that covered the alley and had reached out several feet past where she had been standing during the burst of light.

She was snapped out of her examination by a cough. Tracking it to its source, she found a man leaning against the wall. A silver stake, sparking with electricity, was jabbed in his left shoulder. Even though he was conscious, he didn't register her presence, instead focused on removing the offending item from his shoulder. Every time he tried, however, it shocked him more violently, causing him to convulse in pain and withdraw his hand. There was a curious lack of blood.

It was clear to her that his presence and the distorted space around her were connected, so she was hesitant when she finally spoke: "Can I help?"

His gaze shot up suddenly, making it clear he hadn't noticed her. "Run!" he commanded, managing to convey his seriousness in his gaze despite the pain the stake was causing him. Before Kallen could react, however, the sphere surrounding them stopped shifting, changing into a more solid, glass-like form. "Too late," he mused.

"So I'm trapped here now?" she asked. He nodded. "Then I might as well help."

"Fine," he groaned. Motioning to the stake, he continued, "Get this thing out of me."

"But it's electrified," she complained, "how will I have any more luck than you?"

Not moving seemed to be reducing the pain, as his speech was getting less pained. "Look, if this thing isn't removed, it will kill me. When that happens, this bubble will destabilize and kill you."

He didn't have any reason to lie to her about such a thing, she figured, so she started looking for something non-conductive to grab the stake with. Thankfully, someone had left a broken bike tire in the alley, and working the rubber inner tube free didn't take long. As she wrapped it around the stake, she paused when she noticed it was shocking him again. He motioned for her to continue anyway. Taking a firm grasp of the rubber with one hand and placing the other his should for support, she pulled in a quick movement.

The result was not quite what she expected. The stake came free easily, but the electricity somehow carried through the rubber and shocked her, causing her to drop it in pain. Examining her hand, she found her skin had become wrinkled and the fingernails had grown about an inch longer. Unexpectedly, the man reached forward and grabbed her hand. His hand glowed slightly, and in an instant her hand was back to normal. "Thank you," he said, now clearly exhausted.

"We should get you to a hospital," she offered.

"No hospitals!" he insisted. When he said it, his tone was different, darker, and it sounded as if another voice had repeated him just barely out of sync with his own. With that, he lost consciousness. The bubble dissolved at the same time.

She found herself unable to resist his command. _Geass?_, she thought. No, if it were Geass he'd have looked at her like Lelouch had to. This was something else. For the moment, it didn't matter. With that command, her options dwindled down to one: she'd have to drag his unconscious form to her house. It wasn't far, so hopefully she could just dismiss him as a drunken friend if it came up.

* * *

Kallen was grateful that she hadn't run into anyone while dragging the strange man home, and likewise glad that her mother was asleep. She laid him on her bed, not wanting to leave him in the main room in case her mother woke up.

Now finally able to get a good look at him, Kallen's confusion only deepened. He certainly looked normal at a glace: he had black hair, green eyes, and was about as tall as her. That's where the normal aspects ended, however. The wound in his shoulder wasn't bleeding. Instead, there was a hole, which was slowly closing up at a rate no human should have been able to heal at. She also couldn't get a pulse, and his heart had four distinct sounds instead of two. She had a lot of questions for him once he woke up, given that his order kept her from considering turning him in.

* * *

The man finally awoke when his wound closed. He surveyed his surroundings, then turned to Kallen. "Where are we? he asked.

"This is my house," she answered. Not giving him a chance to ask any more questions, she moved to a question of her own, "What are you? You're not human, that much I can tell."

To her surprise, he laughed. "It might be more appropriate to say I'm _no longer_ human, but in general your assessment is correct." He seemed to remember something. "I'm Todd, by the way, and you would be?"

"Kallen, Kallen Kouzuki," she replied. "What are you?"

"What I am would take a very long time to explain and a lot of words I'm fairly sure you either don't know or simply don't exist here." She furrowed her brow at his somewhat condescending tone, but he didn't react. "Suffice it to say that I'm…" he paused to consider his response, "a traveler."

"That's not much of an answer," she complained. "What about that command you gave me? Was it Geass?"

"Geass?" he stared at her in confusion. "Never heard of such a thing. That command was merely a trick with my voice. It delivers commands to your unconscious mind, making resistance impossible." Since she seemed satisfied with his response, he changed the subject. "I suppose I should thank you properly for saving me, unintentionally or not. Make a wish."

"Make a wish?" she repeated. "What does that mean?"

"A wish, as in a desire of some sort," he clarified. "Pick something and I'll do my best to fulfill it. I can't promise that I can do anything you ask, but whatever you decide will probably be possible."

"A desire…" she said, trailing off. She turned to the bulletin board on her wall, covered with pictures of her friends. The picture of Lelouch stared back at her. She had everything she needed here, but he was the only thing missing that she wanted.

"Something involving him, perhaps?" Kallen suddenly looked up. She had been staring at the picture for a while. "From the way you look at him I'm guessing he's deceased."

"For about six months now," she said, managing to keep her voice level. "He died as part of some crazy scheme to make the entire world hate him so they would get along better once he died."

"And you would like him back?" He stared at her impassively. She merely nodded. "I'm sorry to say that I cannot bring back the dead, at least not one so publicly dead as this man. However, I can offer you an alternative."

"What would that be?" she asked. She was hesitant to believe in this man, but he clearly possessed strange powers, so maybe he really could reunite her with Lelouch.

"Do you know what drove him to his end? If you do, or at least have some idea, I can give you the chance to prevent it." Todd raised one hand, palm up, and a small portal formed above it. The image within took shape, showing her walking home a few minutes before he had arrived.

She was at a loss for words. "How…?" was all she could manage to say.

He gave an exasperated sigh. "I'm saying you could travel back in time to a point of your choosing and change history. You could sway him from his path or prevent whatever drove him to it."

The realization finally struck her, but at the same time she considered what Lelouch had created through his death. "What about all this? If I stop Lelouch, what will happen?"

"Then history will change and this will probably change with it. I couldn't tell you exactly how," he explained. "I will guarantee you this, though. If you accept my offer and things go worse, I will undo whatever changes you make and restore this timeline. There won't be any risk. After all, it wouldn't be a very good wish if granting it made everything worse." He smiled after finishing.

Kallen considered that for a long time, and Todd was kind enough not to interrupt her as she did. If he really could keep her from changing history for the worse, then there was no harm in trying. Thinking back, she decided that the moment she had lost him was when Nunnally had seemingly died during the Second Battle of Tokyo. Things just went from bad to worse for Lelouch after that. Maybe if she stopped it…

"Alright, I'll accept your offer," she said. "Take me back to the Second Battle of Tokyo, to when I launched my Guren."

"Are you sure about your choice? he asked.

"Positive," she replied.

"Then as you wish," he said with a smile. With a snap of his fingers, the world around them vanished.


	3. A Second Chance

Kallen found herself sitting in the cockpit of her Guren, wearing her pilot suit as she had been on the day she asked to go to. The dark hanger of the Tokyo Settlement government complex could be seen on the screens around her. Sayoko was standing near the console on her left, frozen in place. Part of her hadn't really taken Todd's claim seriously, yet here she was.

"This was the time you wanted, right?" Surprised, Kallen turned to see Todd's face on the main display, not as a video feed but more like a reflection.

"Uh, y-yes," she managed to stammer out.

"Good," he said, cutting in before she could ask any questions. "No doubt you've noticed the people outside aren't moving. Things will start up once I'm gone. First, there are a few things to explain. I've sent your mind back in time to this point, hence why you're not dressed in your school clothing. You can use your knowledge of the future any way you see fit, so long as you don't tell anyone about it or make it too obvious that you know more than you should."

"Why?" Kallen asked. "What's the harm in just telling people what's to come?"

"Two reasons," Todd replied. "One, people will simply assume you're crazy until you're proven right. Two, if and when you're proven right, they're going to get suspicious very fast." Kallen frowned, but nodded in acceptance. "Alright then. That's all. I'll be watching just in case, so call if you need anything."

"I will…" she said, pausing before adding, "Thank you." Todd simply smiled and vanished.

With that, everything started moving. "Currently querying Lord Zero's present location," said Sayoko. "Shall I transfer friend or foe information?"

"Yes, please," Kallen responded. She ran through the preflight checklist before triggering the main startup routine. "Confirm activation." It felt a little weird reliving the same day twice, but that wouldn't last once she got moving.

"Activation confirmed," Sayoko reiterated. "After Guren's sortie, we will return to our original operation.

"Yes, please find the Viceroy. I'll save Zero." Kallen would do more than that this time. This time, she'd make sure Nunnally made it to the Black Knights, instead of being assumed lost in FLEIJA's blast.

With that, Sayoko announced the launch and Kallen took off. It surprised her just how easily piloting came to her. Just like she remembered, she burst through the wall, tearing through some unsuspecting Britannian Knightmare on the way out. She locked on to Zero's location, taking out another five Knightmares along the way. Killing also came naturally, which disturbed her.

* * *

Once Kallen reached Zero, she found him just as she remembered. The Knight of Ten, Luciano Bradley, had him pinned, the quartet of Vincents he commanded keeping Zero from escaping. This was one person she would not be sorry to kill again.

"Thanks for the favor the other day, Vampire of Britannia," Kallen said. She heard Lelouch stammer her name behind her. "Zero, Kallen Kouzuki, captain of your personal bodyguard team, has returned to the frontlines as of now!" That was true in more ways than one now.

Luciano's attack came swiftly, though it was easy to avoid. If she were in the Guren Kashoushiki, Lucianio's formidable Knightmare would be a problem. However, with the Guren SEITEN, he didn't stand a chance. She returned fire with the radiant surge, firing the harken arm to chase him down. Even in dodging he was despicable, throwing his allies into the path of her attacks. It didn't matter, though. Even missing had its benefits, as she wiped out at least thirty more enemy Knightmares by virtue of the long-range blast.

"Eleven," Luciano started, "do you know the truth of the battlefield?" Kallen wanted to interrupt and just destroy him, but even one such as him at least deserved some last words. "Killing people in everyday life is a crime, but on the battlefield, you're a hero for the number of people you kill."

"So, the Vampire of Britannia wants to become a hero?" Kallen decided to let the conversation play out the same.

"Not really," Luciano responded, "I just think that being able to take away the most important thing people have – life – is the best thing that ever happened!"

"You know? You're a bit disgusting!" It was as true now as when she said it the first time. She fired an energy disc at him. She knew his response, but provoking him into acting the same would only make her job easier. Sure enough, he blocked with the shield and attacked with the drill. She taunted him as she blocked it with her fork knife, taking out his arm. The Slash Harken came next, which she easily parried and ensnared. "Question: What's the most important thing to you? Is it only your life?" She didn't bother listening to his response, instead triggering the radiant surge and reducing his Knightmare to superheated scrap.

"Well done, Kallen," Lelouch said, "Now we need to return to the government building and get Nunnally."

"I won't allow that!" There was Suzaku, right on schedule. "Kallen, get out of the way," he commanded, firing his Hadron blaster to accentuate the point.

"I will not, Suzaku," Kallen retorted, easily blocking the blast. It hadn't occurred to her the first time, but he hadn't finished his command before firing. He was probably hoping she'd either block and get shot down or move and let Zero die. Naturally he was surprised when neither happened.

"Kallen," said Gino, "you chose the name Kouzuki over the name Stadtfeld?"

"Yeah," she replied. "So, Gino, should I be happy about seeing you on the battlefield, or should I be sad?" At the moment, she felt both ways. Gino was a nice guy, so she was sad to be on the opposite side as him. Of course, he was going to be busy in a moment, so she wouldn't have to fight him at least, and he wasn't likely to lose to them.

"How about we enjoy it? Suzaku, leave the decision with Kallen to me." Gino didn't seem to get that Suzaku wouldn't leave and Kallen likewise wouldn't leave him alone with Zero, but Kallen admired his attempt to settle things himself.

"You hear that, Suzaku?" Kallen knew it wasn't helping to taunt Suzaku, but she needed to make sure he wasn't going to fire FLEIJA, and that meant fighting him.

"Sorry, Gino," Suzaku replied, "she's not an opponent that will allow me to do that."

Kallen watched as Gino was chased off by two other Knightmares. Jeremiah was piloting the Sutherland Sieg. What caught her eye was the silver and purple Vincent. She blew it up, or rather one like it, before. No doubt Lelouch had Geassed the pilot into obedience for one reason or another. She'd ask Lelouch later.

Putting it out of her mind, Kallen turned to Suzaku. He was already preparing to shoot her again. She sighed. He wasn't going to understand how badly outmatched he was unless he was taught with sheer force. She'd give him a chance, though. She waited for him to fire again and blocked it. "You can't win, Suzaku."

"What?" Suzaku asked with confusion in his voice. She had caught him off-guard.

"You heard me," she replied. "Your Lancelot can't beat this Guren. I'm sure Milly's former fiancé – Lloyd, was it? – will attest to that." She paused to see if he would respond, but he said nothing. Perhaps Lloyd was confirming her assessment. "If you surrender, I won't destroy you." It surprised her that Lelouch hadn't interjected. He was pretty vehement about killing Suzaku as she recalled. Then again, she was in the middle of the killing strike at the time, and he had already ordered her to take Suzaku out.

"I must refuse," Suzaku finally answered. "Surrendering to you means surrendering to Zero, and that's something I cannot do."

She scoffed at his reply. "I didn't think you'd listen to reason, but I thought I should at least give you the chance." Now that getting him to surrender wasn't happening, Kallen turned to her original plan. He wouldn't be able to fire FLEIJA without any arms, so she'd tear the Lancelot limb from limb.

Suzaku wasted no time in attacking, closing in at full speed and firing the Hadron Blaster again. Perhaps he felt it might work better at close-range. Kallen dodged and fired an energy disc, ripping through the blaster with ease. Not giving him a chance to consider his next move, she fired the harken arm, vaporizing his sword arm as he ejected it. She primed the left Slash Harken and fired as she retracted her arm, taking out his remaining arm before he had a chance to grab his sword.

Even without arms, Suzaku wasn't willing to give up, closing in to deliver that spinning kick he was so fond of. Kallen positioned her wing to intercept, making sure to damage the Slash Harken on the leg as she severed it. She brought up her fork knife and cut through the remaining leg. She missed the Slash Harken, but that would just make immobilizing him easier if he decided to attack again.

Suzaku fell back, just enough that he was out of arms reach yet not quite retreating. Kallen wasn't going to let him, of course. If he reached an ally, they could fire FLEIJA for him. The fight had gone a lot quicker this time. The first time she had toyed with him, dodging his attacks for at least three minutes before finally attacking under Lelouch's orders. Sayoko hadn't even secured Nunnally yet.

Since Suzaku couldn't fight back, Kallen felt compelled to give him one last chance. "As I said, you cannot win. You can still surrender."

Suzaku took a long time to reply, and when he finally did Kallen could hear the uncertainty and fear in his voice. "N-No, I won't surrender."

Kallen sighed. She couldn't really blame him. She was just as stubborn. "Then you're going to die here." She readied her claw for a killing blow. She didn't want to kill him, but she had asked to come here, to change history. Backing out was out of the question. Suzaku fired his last Slash Harken, which she parried and ensnared as she had with Luciano's. She grabbed his head and prepared to trigger the radiant surge.

"I surrender!" Kallen barely stopped herself from frying Suzaku. Why do so now, when death was a second away, when he was just as doomed a few moments earlier?

"Why are you surrendering now?" Kallen asked.

"Because I must live," Suzaku responded. The tone in his voice was urgent, uncharacteristically so.

Kallen opened a channel to Lelouch. "Zero, should we believe him?"

"Yes," he replied, somewhat slowly. "I'll explain later." After a short pause, he continued. "I've signaled for an Akatsuki to take him to the Ikaruga. Once Suzaku has been secured, we'll retrieve Nunnally."

"Yes, sir," she acknowledged. There was something more to this, she considered, probably related to Geass. Suzaku was no doubt under its influence. From his comments, she guessed it had something to do with living, a curious command to give. The questions were piling up. She already had a bunch of questions Lelouch never answered, and somehow she had managed to find up even more.

Kallen allowed herself a slight moment of pride. She had managed to stop one thing which had driven Lelouch away. The Black Knights' betrayal was still to come, and the battle itself was far from over, but if Nunnally could be brought to the Ikaruga safely, hopefully the Britannians would not be so quick to flex their newfound muscle against Zero.


	4. Alternate Outcomes

Once Suzaku had been secured, Kallen and Lelouch moved to retrieve Nunnally. The Avalon was still under siege by Tohdoh's forces, and as far as Kallen could tell it hadn't deployed any additional Knightmares. As she recalled, it was the Mordred that carried the second FLEIJA warhead, but it had only been equipped with it to escort Schneizel to the Ikaruga. Under siege as he was, such a retrofit was out of the question.

By the time they reached the government building, Sayoko had located Nunnally's transport. Kallen took up an escort position alongside Zero. As they prepared to move off, Kallen caught sight of Asahina's Knightmare, heading into the building. One of the Gawain knockoffs was following him. Kallen leveled her radiant surge at the pursuer and fired. He managed to dodge, and then retreated. At least he knew when not to pick a fight. "Asahina," she called, "what are you doing? The Viceroy's already been secured."

Asahina's response came slowly, and for some reason he seemed nervous. "Of course, my mistake," he replied. He took up position to their rear.

Kidnapping the Viceroy didn't go unnoticed for long. The remaining forces guarding the government building broke off and began to move on them, including the one Knightmare Kallen had discouraged earlier. He probably felt better with friends. "I'll handle this," she announced. She locked the wings into position for maximum speed, smashing through the dozen or so Knightmares in an instant. The Gawain knockoff lasted a bit longer, to his credit, but Kallen forced him to eject once she barreled through his torso.

Now that they were unchallenged, getting Nunnally to the Ikaruga proved simple. Once she was secure, the Britannian army fell back, regrouping around Kamine Island where the Emperor was holding position. The Black Knights likewise moved to regroup. The battle would begin again in a few hours time. FLEIJA was still a problem, Kallen knew, but with Nunnally in their custody, even the uncaring Schneizel likely wouldn't be so eager to deploy that weapon.

* * *

Aboard the Ikaruga, Kallen accompanied Lelouch to speak with Nunnally. He had reasoned that having a friend present would put her at ease. Once they entered the elevator, he spoke up. "Kallen, thank goodness you're safe. Forgive me for not rescuing you earlier."

Kallen smiled. It was nice to know that particular sentiment wasn't grief-motivated. "Thank you," she replied, "but it's Nunnally you should be thankful to. She had me moved to a private cell." She smiled somewhat mischievously. "She told me a lot of stories about you."

She swore he was blushing beneath his mask. "S-Stories," he sputtered, "what stories?"

She started counting on her fingers. "There was the thing about you dressing as Santa, the-." The elevator door shot open, so she stopped counting. "Let's just say it's a fairly long list." Lelouch merely groaned in response.

Nunnally had been put up in one of the guest quarters. They had also managed to capture her aide, Miss Romeyer. It had certainly been a surprise when a second transport had arrived, led in by a captured Sutherland. Lelouch told Kallen that he was the Vincent pilot from the Babel tower incident. For that reason, Lelouch also had Jeremiah guarding Nunnally.

Once they entered and sealed the door, Nunnally addressed them. "Zero, we meet again." She paused for a moment, and then turned to Kallen. "Kallen, is that you?"

Kallen still didn't get how she did that. "Yes, Nunnally," she replied, "Zero set me free during the battle."

"I see," Nunnally replied. "I'm glad." She became more serious. "So, Zero, do you plan to keep me hostage here?"

"You'll be well-treated as long as you're here," he answered, confirming her question without actually saying it.

"Why couldn't you have just participated in the Special Administrative Zone?" she asked. "We could have avoided this."

"I gave the Black Knights – the Japanese people – a dream," he said in a measured tone, "and to be blunt the SAZ is not that dream."

Nunnally frowned. "Is that you feel, too?" she asked, turning to Kallen.

"Yes," Kallen replied. There wasn't much else to say on the matter.

"Very well," Nunnally said. "Just one more thing. I overheard the guards talking about Suzaku. Is it true you captured him?"

Kallen spoke up before Lelouch could. "I did. He was between us and you. Fortunately he decided to surrender at the last moment, so there was no need to end his life." Sensing what Nunnally was going to ask next, Kallen continued, "I'm sure we can arrange for you to see him in time, but for the moment things are still quite busy."

"Alright then," Nunnally said. It seemed to Kallen as if she had more she wanted to say, but she wasn't going to press the issue.

"Good day, Viceroy Nunnally," Lelouch said, and with that they left the room.

* * *

After their conversation with Nunnally, Kallen followed Lelouch to his quarters. He had decided to make good on his earlier promise to explain what happened to Suzaku, as well as answer a few other questions she had.

"Oh, master, is this your mistress?" Kallen knew C.C. wouldn't have her memories back, but the sudden implication left her blushing uncontrollably and at a loss for words.

Lelouch, it seemed, was equally caught off-guard by the sudden question. "C.C.," he said, managing to keep his voice level despite a small blush, "could you wait in the other room, please?" She nodded and did as asked. "Sorry about that, Kallen. C.C. has lost her memories. The C.C. you knew is gone, replaced by the personality of a slave girl from a time far removed from our own."

"How did it happen?" Kallen asked. This was yet another thing she never figured out, and C.C. had returned to normal fairly quickly.

"It was during a confrontation with the Emperor," he began, "not long after you were captured. She tried to sacrifice her life to save me, but I wouldn't let her. When I pulled her away from him, she lost her memories. I have no idea how to return her to normal."

"I see," Kallen said sorrowfully. For all C.C.'s teasing, Kallen did enjoy her company. Hopefully she'd get to talk to C.C. once her memories returned. They had not parted on the best of terms before, being enemies and all. "I'm sorry, Lelouch," she offered.

"Sorry?" he said, genuinely confused. "None of this is your fault, it's mine."

"No, not for that," she corrected. "I heard about Shirley from Suzaku, and now C.C.'s gone. It must have been difficult, not having anyone to confide in all this time."

"Shirley…" he said, clearly pained by the memory. "I suppose he told you I did it."

"He did," she replied. That wasn't all he did, of course, but she felt it best not to mention his other actions in that regard. "I don't believe you made her commit suicide. If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine," she paused momentarily, hoping her next statement would get through, "but if you're willing I'd like to know what happened."

Lelouch remained quiet for what seemed like forever, even though it was probably only a minute at most, before speaking. "She regained her memories – memories of my identity as Zero, of Nunnally, of everything." He balled his fists as he continued. "She tried to find me so she could help me. I was responsible for her father's death, and yet she forgave me for it. But Rolo got to her first, and she trusted him too readily, so he killed her when she revealed what she knew."

"And you haven't killed him yet?" A very blunt question, she knew, but she also knew Lelouch well enough to know that's what he'd do if his friends were harmed.

Thankfully, Lelouch took the question at face value. "You remember Babel Tower, right?" Kallen nodded. "Killing Rolo face to face is nearly impossible thanks to his Geass. He can freeze the sense of time of anyone around him, paralyzing them while he goes for the kill himself. He doesn't even need to look people in the eye. I've tried indirect methods, but circumstances haven't worked in my favor."

"Alright then," she said. "Thank you for telling me."

"No," Lelouch said, "thank you… for listening. You were right. Having no one to talk to was difficult."

Kallen suddenly remembered why she had come in the first place. "I almost forgot, what about Suzaku?"

"Oh, right," Lelouch said, having forgotten just as she had. "That's a fairly simple matter. During that incident on Shikine Island, when he tried to sacrifice himself to kill me, I gave him a command to 'live' so he wouldn't turn to such suicidal behavior ever again."

"No wonder I had to push him to the brink of death," she mused. This also explained why Suzaku had destroyed Tokyo the first time. No doubt he had refused to fire the bomb until she had driven him to imminent death. Lelouch's actions seemed to have a habit of catching up to him in the worst possible manner. "Does he know about it?"

"He does," Lelouch answered, "though I'm not sure just how he figured out the exact command. He was quite vocal about it twisting his convictions when we met just before the Tokyo battle." Lelouch sighed. "He's right, of course. He desires punishment for killing his father, and I took away any chance he has of realizing that, through death at least."

Kallen considered that for a moment. It struck her as a bit reckless, both on Lelouch's part and Suzaku's part. Lelouch made his enemy even harder to kill, and Suzaku had marched into battle with a weapon of mass destruction knowing he had an infirmity which might drive him to use it. They were two of a kind, just too stubborn to accept their limitations. Then what he said hit her. "Wait a minute, you met with Suzaku? Why?"

"I was trying to save Nunnally," he explained calmly. "The Emperor knows I'm Zero, so I had hoped Suzaku would put aside our differences and keep her safe. Instead he betrayed me to Schneizel." He paused for a moment, considering the ramifications of that particular statement. "It's quite likely he'll try to use that information against me soon. He knows the truth about Euphemia's massacre, too. I seriously doubt the Black Knights will be willing to listen to me if they find out."

That was far truer than he knew. Kallen remembered that day – this day – all too well. They weren't going to listen to him; at least, they weren't willing then since Schneizel had convinced them to betray Zero. They had even used her as bait to coax Lelouch out, and threatened to kill her just because she might be under the effect of Geass. Even though she had changed things, that threat still loomed overhead. Then there was Villetta, who was onboard at the moment. Kallen was fairly sure she already knew everything Schneizel had learned.

"Even if they learn," she said slowly, "you can find a way to explain. And, at the very least, I won't betray you." She had the first time thanks to his lie, but that wouldn't work this time. Hopefully, if it came to it, her friends would not be willing to pull the trigger just to get Lelouch.

"I'm glad to hear that," he replied. The door chimed, and Lelouch picked up his Zero mask as he went to answer it. "Ah, it's here." Noticing her confusion, he explained. "I forgot to mention before, but I had some food sent up here. I figured you might be hungry, and I didn't get much to eat today, either."

"Uh… thanks," Kallen said, blushing slightly. This certainly was going better than it did last time, and it was true that she hadn't gotten a chance to eat since breakfast. They were busy with Zero's attack on the settlement, after all.

Lelouch brought the cart in and started spreading out the food. He had ordered hamburgers with Worcestershire sauce (her favorite food) and a large pizza for him and C.C. to share. Getting C.C. to move out from behind the door frame and sit with them took some work, but she seemed to warm up to Kallen after some initial nervousness. The meal went by quietly, and C.C. retreated to the other room once she had finished.

With C.C. out of the room, Kallen leaned over and gave Lelouch a small kiss on the cheek. Blushing, he asked, "What was that for?"

"Just a thank you," she explained, "for rescuing me." She edged closer to him, moving her hands up to his face. "And this…" she followed, giving him a passionate kiss on the lips, "is something I've wanted to do for a while now."

"Kallen…" Lelouch said, unable to voice more thanks to the pleasant surprise of her kiss.

At tat moment, his phone rang. Kallen cursed inwardly. It was like the interruptions were following her. Without really considering what she was doing, she grabbed the phone and answered the call. "What?" she asked angrily.

The voice on the other end was clearly taken aback by her abrupt and unexpected question. "Kallen?" asked Ohgi. "Where's Zero?"

Suddenly realizing what her impulsive action had just implied, she fumbled for a response. "Zero's… uh… indisposed at the moment. What is it?"

Ohgi's voice didn't betray any opinion on the matter, and he instead moved on. "Could you ask him to come to the conference room, there's something we need to discuss."

Kallen froze for a moment. Though it was a different room, this was when the Black Knights decided to betray Zero. She composed herself, needing to confirm it. "Is there a specific reason?"

"I'd rather not discuss it over the phone," Ohgi said. "Just please have him come down here."

"Alright, goodbye," Kallen said, ending the call. That confirmed it. He would have given a straight answer in a normal situation. She couldn't believe the timing, though. It was one thing to betray him after FLEIJA had forced a cease-fire. Now they were doing it on the heels of a decisive battle. At the very least, meeting in the conference room meant no Knightmares and likely only the Black Knight leaders attending. They might be more willing to listen to reason. Noticing Lelouch's questioning stare, she explained, "Ohgi would like to discuss something with you in the conference room. He wouldn't say what."

"We better get going then," Lelouch replied.

Kallen nodded and walked out with him once he had donned his Zero mask. As the elevator made its way down to the conference room, she ran through various scenarios in her head. Her trip to the past might be a very short one if this did not go well.


	5. Betrayal Redux

Kallen entered the elevator with Lelouch, dreading the confrontation to come but doing her best not to show it. The conference room was only a few floors down, so the ride didn't take more than a minute. As the door opened, she saw Ohgi, Diethard, Tohdoh, and Tamaki at the table.

"Everything going well thus far?" Kallen jumped in surprise at the sudden question, Todd now standing behind her as if it was normal. Her eyes darted to Lelouch, who was still facing forward, oblivious to his presence. "Everything is frozen except for us," Todd explained.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. "And how did you get behind me?"

"To answer your second question," he started, "I've actually been waiting here for a few minutes now, ever since Ohgi called you. You just didn't notice." Sensing her unspoken question, he continued, "I can make people see what I want them to see. The people on this ship either don't notice me or assume I'm someone familiar and ignore me, depending on what the situation calls for."

"And why was it necessary to scare me half to death?" she asked in an annoyed tone.

"It wasn't," he admitted. "I just thought it was funny." He laughed mildly, and Kallen considered hitting him for a moment. Given the situation, though, she thought better of it. "As for why I'm here," he said, changing the subject, "look outside."

Doing as asked, Kallen stepped outside the elevator. A quick look around revealed that Asahina and Chiba were standing in the alcove of the other elevator, carrying guns. Clearly they wanted to make sure they wouldn't be leaving of their own accord. Villetta was also with them; though unarmed, she was clearly hidden so Lelouch would not become suspicious. She turned back to Todd. "I already expected something like this. Why bother showing me?"

"As a warning, of sorts," he explained. "Not about them, but about you. If you expected this much, no doubt you've concluded this trip will be a pointless exercise if you die." She nodded in acknowledgment. "Therefore, should death be an inevitable outcome for you, I will bring you back to your original present. Changing history is confusing enough without the one doing it dying before they reach the point they left from."

"But you're not going to do it now?" she asked.

"No," he said frankly. "You may be able to talk your way out of this. That and it certainly would be boring for me not to watch you work out these problems."

Kallen frowned. "So you enjoy watching me struggle?"

"Persevere," Todd corrected, "but because I'm bored I'll be a little more helpful than that." Todd walked over to Asahina and Chiba, and then set the safeties on their weapons. "I expect you to try to talk things out first, rather than simply beating these two up. Plus I can't guarantee that they won't notice their 'mistake' and correct it."

"That's not much help, but thanks regardless," Kallen said.

"You're welcome," he replied, giving a mock bow. He stepped out of the elevator and took a seat in one of the empty chairs at the conference table. "Better get back into the elevator. They might think it weird if you teleport across the room."

Kallen did as asked, returning to her original position. Everything started moving again once she did. She stepped out with Lelouch, and as expected Asahina and Chiba had them at gunpoint once they moved close enough to the table. Kallen instinctively moved to shield Lelouch, resisting the urge to disarm the pair since they hadn't turned the safeties off.

Lelouch turned to Villetta. "Ah, Villetta Nu," he said, voice unnervingly calm despite the situation. "Long time no see."

"Zero," she replied, her tone clearly conveying her dislike of him. "It seems our situations are reversed now."

"So it would seem," he echoed. "You told them everything?" She nodded.

"Lelouch," Ohgi cut in, "you have some questions to answer."

Lelouch took off his mask to face them properly. He would have thought they were smarter than this. Villetta knew what his Geass was capable of, yet all of them were unprotected. Then again, he had neglected to remove his contact, and he couldn't Geass them all at once given where they were standing. Noticing Kallen still acting as his shield, he put her hand on her shoulder to calm her. "They seem to be willing to listen. Let's take a seat." Kallen let down her guard and took a seat at the opposite side of the table with Lelouch.

"We're not here to question you, Kallen," Ohgi said. "You don't need to sit there."

"I'm quite comfortable here, thanks," Kallen replied, making no effort to disguise the anger in her voice.

"Fine," said Ohgi. Turning back to Lelouch, he started with the most obvious point. "You're Lelouch vi Britannia, former Eleventh Prince of the Britannian Empire, are you not?" Lelouch simply nodded. "And you have the power of Geass, which allows you to control people's actions as you see fit?"

"If you now that much," he began, "then it certainly seems foolish that you would face me without protection of any kind."

Ohgi ignored the slight insult and continued to Lelouch's most obvious crime. "We know you were responsible for Euphemia's massacre. What do you have to say about that?"

"That depends," Lelouch began, now completely serious. "If I explain exactly what happened will you even listen? You're clearly prepared to shoot me here, and it seems you wouldn't mind killing Kallen, either, judging by Asahina and Chiba over there." Kallen kept her gaze on Ohgi, wondering if he'd actually admit to it. She knew he had been willing the first time, but they had been convinced by Schneizel. In this situation, though, he might not be so willing to kill in cold blood.

"We only brought the weapons as a defensive measure," Ohgi explained, "in case you tried anything." Kallen noticed that he was careful to avoid mentioning her. "You didn't answer my question."

"I am responsible," Lelouch said. "That's all that matters. I will not make excuses for what is already past."

Lelouch's answer only made Ohgi angry. "It's your fault that thousands of innocent Japanese people were killed! Do their lives mean nothing to you?"

"And now the Black Knights possess an army that rivals Britannia," Lelouch said, listing out his points calmly, "your country is on the verge of being liberated, and you yourselves have been raised from a mere group of terrorists to the leaders of that very force. The massacre was a tragedy, but the past cannot be changed. One can only move forward."

"That still doesn't excuse what you did," Ohgi snarled.

"He didn't do it on purpose," Kallen shouted. She hadn't meant to be so vocal about it, and now everyone was looking at her.

"You knew about this?" Ohgi asked, a look of confusion on his face.

"I've known about Lelouch since the Black Rebellion, and everything he's done in the pursuit of his goals," she explained. "Tell them what happened, Lelouch."

Lelouch looked as if he didn't want to explain himself, but Kallen's stern glare loosened his tongue. "Alright, Kallen." He turned to Ohgi and the others. "I'm going to show you my Geass. Please remain calm." Asahina and Chiba leveled their guns at Lelouch, but Tohdoh motioned for them not to fire. Removing his contact, Lelouch quickly explained. "This is my Geass. Without this contact, I cannot turn it off." He replaced the contact. "On that day, I lost control of my Geass, and in giving an example to Euphemia of how I could control her I caused the massacre."

"How do we know you aren't lying?" Ohgi asked.

"Then you believe Kallen is lying, too?" Lelouch countered.

"You could be controlling her," Ohgi said without hesitation. "You could be controlling any of us as far as we know."

"If I were controlling any of you," Lelouch said, once again serious, "you would never have even thought to betray me like this. Kallen is loyal of her own accord." Kallen nodded to confirm that sentiment.

Diethard spoke up. "Regardless of whom Zero is or what secrets he has hidden, there's no question that we would not be where we are now if not for him. I still believe we can trust him."

"What about his recent secret mission in the Chinese Federation?" said Asahina. Lelouch turned to face him. "I heard the story from Kinoshita. You ordered the Zero Squad to slaughter women and children. How can you possibly excuse that?"

Kallen had learned about this incident after they had betrayed Zero the first time, but hadn't paid it much mind. Finding him was all that mattered then, and he probably had a good reason for it. Lelouch's answer was frustratingly vague. "You would not understand even if I explained."

"Try me," Asahina growled.

Lelouch sighed. "Imagine an organization under Britannia's control dedicated to producing people just like me, people with powers you can neither understand nor resist, people trained to be assassins from as early as six years old. Now imagine these people are led by a man who cannot be killed by any means, and is the source of this power. With such power, how could we ever hope to stop Britannia?"

"And that justifies such a massacre?" Asahina asked.

"It was not my original plan," Lelouch admitted, "but I learned the hard way that these people cannot be controlled." Everyone seemed to mull over that for a moment, so Lelouch moved on. "Are there any other things you would like to question me on? There is a battle coming soon, and if you intend to remove me as your leader I suggest you do it before that happens."

Lelouch's straightforward declaration left the entire group unsure. Ohgi eventually spoke up. "We need some time to discuss this. Asahina and Chiba will escort you back to your quarters. We'll call when we've decided what to do with you." Lelouch stood up, followed by Kallen, and headed for the elevator.

* * *

The elevator ride back to Lelouch's quarters was awkward to say the least, as he and Kallen were being guarded by the two people who trusted him the least. Once they reached the door, Kallen entered first, making it clear they weren't going to different rooms. Asahina and Chiba didn't object. Once Lelouch walked in, Kallen decided to at have a bit of fun with the joke Todd left her. "Next time you are assigned to escort someone at gunpoint," she said, "it might be wise to turn the safeties off." Kallen closed the door as the two frantically checked their weapons, pleased with the small bit of payback.

"Not a very smart idea to antagonize our captors," Lelouch pointed out.

"It's the least they deserve for thinking about betraying you now of all times," she retorted. "So what do you plan to do if they decide to remove you?"

"It's likely that they won't be willing to do that just yet," he explained, "at least not until they have an opportunity to do so that won't leave them at a disadvantage." He took off his mask and placed it on the table. "For the moment, all that matters is stopping the Emperor. He didn't join the battle. He stopped over Kamine Island, where those ruins are. I'm not sure what he's doing, but it cannot be good."

"What about Schenizel?" asked Kallen. "Won't he still be a problem?"

"Schenizel doesn't like to play on battlefields where he's not winning," Lelouch said. "If the Emperor is taken out, Schenizel should be willing to negotiate."

"That's good to hear," she said, glad that Lelouch still had a plan after all this. "Now, about that business before we were interrupted..."

"Oh, yeah," Lelouch said, suddenly quite nervous, "I'm not really sure what to say."

"Then tell me," she said, "what do I mean to you?" As he was standing near the benches, she moved closer so she could make him sit.

"Well," he began slowly, "you're precious to me, Kallen. I realized it that day you were captured. I would have thrown away everything to save you then, and knowing Suzaku took you only strengthened my resolve to get you back. No matter what happens here, I want to see you safe, and I want to make sure you survive this war."

Kallen considered the statement. That fit with what he did the first time around, making her an enemy so her life would not be ruined with his. She probably wasn't going to get him to admit to loving her just yet, at least not without a fair amount of effort. "I'm glad to hear that," she said. Realizing that the subject was making him somewhat uncomfortable, she changed the subject. "So, what should we do while the others decide how to handle the situation?"

"We could play chess," Lelouch replied. "I'm sure the captain of my personal squadron should be able a few minutes before losing."

Kallen knew he was messing with her on purpose, but bit anyway. At least it would kill some time. "Hmph," she grunted, "we'll see about that." He was right, of course, though she did manage to keep one game going for about ten minutes by purposefully making confusing moves. Finally fed up, she decided it was time for something else. "How about darts?"

"Alright," he said, retrieving the darts from a nearby drawer. Kallen was better at this game than he was, at least. After a few lost rounds, Lelouch sighed. "Maybe we should find something to do that we're both good at."

A knock on the door interrupted them. "They're ready to see you again," said Asahina.

"What will we do if they decide not to trust us? Kallen asked.

"I'll figure something out," he assured her.

Kallen felt somewhat easier with that. As long as Lelouch had his head clear, he would find a way to persevere, no matter what happened.


	6. A Surprise Guest

Kallen headed for her room, wanting to take a shower after having spent the last few hours in her skin-tight pilot suit. As Lelouch had predicted, Ohgi and the others were not quite willing to relieve him of command on the heels of such a decisive battle, though they made it clear that the issue would come up again once they had a chance to discuss the matter with Li Xingke and Kaguya. For the moment, they would obey orders, since despite everything Lelouch still had the same goal as they did.

As Kallen stepped in, she found Todd sitting at the table in the middle of the room, eating some steak he probably got from the galley. Though annoying, his ability to simply be anywhere he wanted to be no longer surprised her. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Eating," Todd replied matter-of-factly. "For a military vessel this place sure makes a good steak."

"That's not what I meant," she said. "How long do you plan on hanging around, anyway?"

"I'll be here until you've reached the point we left from," he explained, "another nine months or so from now. As for why I'm in you're room, even though people may not pay attention to me in the halls, they'll notice if I start using their rooms."

"W-Wait," she stammered, "you're going to be living here?"

He laughed heartily. "Just think of me as the C.C. to your Lelouch. Besides, I won't be here most of the time, and I don't need to sleep much." He decided to change the subject. "So, how's it going so far? Any luck changing your friend's fate?"

"Some," she said, trying not to get too enthusiastic. "At least Nunnally is in the Black Knights' hands now, and they aren't going to betray Lelouch as they did before." The implications of his earlier statement suddenly dawned on her. "Wait a minute, how did you know about C.C.? I never told you about her."

"I read your mind," he stated. "How do you think I brought you here without you giving me a specific date?" He paused for a moment to take a bite of the steak, and then continued. "You look great in that bunny suit, by the way."

Rather than be drawn in by his obvious attempt to rile her, Kallen simply moved back to their original topic. "Is Lelouch going to survive now?"

"I don't know," Todd replied. "Every decision you make will affect the outcome, but the only way to know how it ends is to see it through. I will say this, though: changing history is like trying to change the course of a river. You can throw a stone in to change its course, but it always gets back on track. If you want to change your friend's fate, you have to keep throwing stones."

Kallen figured she wasn't going to get anything more concrete than that out of him, so she decided to let it go. She moved to the shower, stopping to regard her new "roommate." "You're not going to try to peek, are you?" she asked, considering his earlier statement about the bunny outfit.

"Of course not," he said, not bothering to look up from his food. "Might have been easier just to coerce your way into Lelouch's shower." Kallen didn't bother to respond. It was like having another C.C. around, constantly teasing her about Lelouch.

* * *

Following the shower, Kallen decided to check on the Lancelot. It hadn't taken long for Rakshata to discover the FLEIJA launcher it was carrying, as well as the terrible destructive potential of the weapon itself. It baffled her as to why Suzaku would even agree to carry such a thing, so she decided to find out why. After getting a copy of the Lancelot's communication logs, she headed down to the detention level.

Once she reached his cell, Suzaku spoke up. "Come to gloat about your victory?"

"A little," she admitted. "It certainly is nice to be on the other side for once. You should have taken Gino's offer and ran."

"Would you have let me go if I did?" he asked, his tone indicating that he already suspected she wouldn't.

"If you had stayed away from Zero I would have," she answered, "but I knew you'd never give up on your quest to stop him, so I guess the answer is no. Not that it matters now that you're our prisoner."

"I would never have let you capture me willingly," he responded.

"Oh," she said, smiling, "I seem to remember you surrendering just when I was about to fry you." Noticing Suzaku's clear annoyance at that revelation, she changed her tone to a more forgiving one. "I'm just messing with you. I know about your 'condition'."

That caught his attention. "If you knew I would surrender anyway, why bother asking me during the battle?

"I only found out after that," she explained. "I gave you the chance during the battle because, despite everything you've done, you've been working toward the same goal in your own way."

"Because it's the right way," he stated. Kallen regretted bringing that up. Now he was going to get preachy as he had at Kamine Island. "Zero's methods won't change a thing."

Kallen figured this was as good a time as any to catch him in his own twisted logic. "So, taking back Japan by force is wrong, even when we do so under the banner of a confederation of nations?"

"Yes," he stated plainly. "You should have just changed Britannia from within."

"Hmph," she grunted, "that's pretty high and mighty for a guy who's conquered other countries by himself. How are you any better from us? How many would you enslave under Britannia just to see Japan free?"

She smiled when her comment left him unsure. His logic wasn't going to hold up as it did before. "I was doing that under orders. I gave them the chance to surrender."

"Surrender and become slaves or fight and die," she said, outlining the choices he gave them, "you certainly leave them with a lot of options, don't you? And as I recall, you certainly weren't willing to surrender to a superior foe, so why should they?"

"Sometimes people have no choice but to work within the system," he replied.

"There's always a choice," she stated, "you're simply too stubborn to see it. Regardless, this is not why I came." She played the Lancelot's communication logs, specifically his announcement about the FLEIJA bomb. "I can understand why Lelouch didn't believe you, even though he should have in retrospect. Would you really have used such a weapon on your own people?"

"I was the only one who wouldn't use it," he stated proudly. "Anyone else would have fired it immediately."

"And what if I hadn't torn apart your Lancelot so thoroughly?" she suggested. "If I had left you with a working arm when I was going to kill you, don't you think your condition would have forced you to use it?" In fact it did, at least it did the first time, but she wanted to see if he would reach that conclusion. Suzaku simply remained silent. "I thought so. Even if you had avoided using the weapon, someone will use it sooner or later. The only difference is that your inaction has given us one to use against Britannia."

"You can't use it," he shouted. "FLEIJA is more powerful than any bomb ever made. Using it would mean a massacre."

"You should have thought about that before bringing it into battle," she noted. "Now that we have the bomb, Britannia will have to worry about having their own weapon used on them."

"So would you use it on them?" he asked.

"I wonder," she said. "I suspect Zero will not want to waste the only one we have, at least until it can be duplicated. If I had to, I might, but if I did I would be using it on my enemies, not my own people." She turned away, preparing to leave. "I promised Nunnally that we'd arrange for you to see her, so at least you have that to look forward to."

"You captured her, too?" Suzaku asked. She nodded. He said nothing for a bit. "Well, thank you then."

"You're welcome," she said, and left for the elevator.

* * *

Kallen headed back to the hanger to wait for the battle to start up. It came as a surprise when the Mordred was escorted in a few minutes later, with no sign of battle damage on either it or the two Akatsuki units flanking it. Of course, it being the Mordred, she did not think two Akatsuki capable of damaging it, much less capturing it unscathed. Lelouch came out of the elevator just as Anya dismounted.

"Zero, what's going on?" Kallen asked.

"I'm not sure," he replied. "Anya surrendered without a fight, insisting that she needed to speak to me." Kallen accompanied him, wary of Anya's intentions. Upon reaching Anya, Lelouch asked the obvious question. "What is it you needed to speak to me about?"

"I need to speak to C.C.," she answered calmly.

Lelouch's gasped at the sudden mention of C.C., since few outside the Black Knights even knew she existed. "How do you know that name?"

Anya leaned in to whisper. "The same way I know she's immortal."

Kallen hadn't interacted much with Anya, but this didn't seem like her. Anya was stoic, reserved, but now she was oddly straightforward. She also seemed to carry herself differently, as if she was more confident now than she had been.

"Very well," Lelouch answered, having passed the moment of shock from her declaration, "come with me." Waving off the guards, he and Kallen escorted Anya to the elevator. Once they boarded, Lelouch got straight to the point. "What business do you have with C.C.?"

"We had a contract," Anya stated calmly. "It will make more sense once I can see her."

Lelouch was clearly confused by Anya's sudden familiarity with C.C., but was honest nonetheless. "C.C. remembers nothing of her life, even her latest contract with me. She won't have anything to offer you."

"I can fix that," she stated. Kallen felt that this was getting more confusing by the moment, but wasn't about to interject.

Lelouch considered Anya's claim for a moment before responding. "I have my doubts that you're telling the truth, but since you're unarmed I will grant your request. But harm her in any way and you won't be walking out of that room."

"Of course," she said, smiling as if the whole situation was amusing. Kallen was quickly coming to distrust her. Something Anya, or rather this Anya, was very off-putting.

* * *

Once they reached Lelouch's quarters, he called out C.C. She was understandably hesitant to come out and meet yet another familiar face.

"Oh," Anya remarked, "you really have lost your memories." Anya slowly moved in and cornered C.C., holding her still. C.C. suddenly stiffened, and both girls remained still for a short period.

When they finally separated, C.C. spoke up. "Long time no see, Lelouch."

"C.C.," Lelouch asked, "is it really you?"

"Of course, boy," she stated mockingly. "And Kallen, I see Lelouch made good on his promise to rescue you." Kallen couldn't even conceive an appropriate response.

"Wait a minute," Lelouch suddenly interjected. "What's going on here? How do you know Anya?"

"I don't," she stated plainly. "This is not Anya. This is Marianne vi Britannia, your mother."


	7. Kamine Island Battle

Lelouch and Kallen responded in unison. "What?"

"It's me, Lelouch," Marianne said, spinning around and doing a kick for no particular reason, "in the flesh." She noticed her appearance. "Well, not my flesh, but it's me."

Kallen, unable to grasp the absurdity of the situation, pointed out the obvious problem. "She's younger than me. How could she possibly be Lelouch's mother?"

"I'm older than I look," C.C. pointed out.

That quieted Kallen for a moment, but only a moment. Lelouch was still too stunned to speak, so she continued. "You're immortal, you have an excuse. I've read enough books on Knightmares to know that the test pilot of the Ganymede looks nothing like that."

"Nevertheless, she's Marianne," C.C. said matter-of-factly, "even if she doesn't look it."

"Enough," Lelouch suddenly shouted as he took of his mask. "Will one of you explain what's going on?"

"My, my, straight to the point," Marianne noted, "just like when you were a kid." Lelouch just glared. "Fine, years ago C.C. gave me the power of Geass. In me, it manifested as the power to travel into people's hearts at the moment of death. Anya was there when I died, so I hid within her to escape."

Lelouch seemed to believe her, rubbing his temples as he took it in. "First things first then, who killed you? I heard from Cornelia that you sent the guards away the night you were killed. If you knew it was going to happen you would have sent Nunnally and me away, too."

"It was V.V.," Marianne said. "He became jealous of my growing relationship with Charles and killed me. He then set up the terrorist incident to cover his tracks, using Nunnally as the witness."

"Why did the Emperor order your body to be removed?" Lelouch asked.

"To protect my body," she explained. "There's a chance I can return to it as long as it's intact."

"So the Emperor must know about this," he deduced. "If so, why did you send us to Japan? What would drive you to abandon your children?" Lelouch made the second statement with clear anger in his voice.

"To protect you," she said. "If V.V. ever felt you knew anything, he would have killed you. That's why Charles modified Nunnally's memories, so she'd never figure out what happened."

"You mean her blindness isn't psychological but a result of Geass?" Lelouch exclaimed. Marianne nodded. After considering what she said, Lelouch turned to C.C. "You knew about this?"

"When Marianne is in control, she can speak to me through my heart," C.C. said. "I've been speaking to her on a regular basis ever since that day. I left the Geass Cult in V.V.'s hands and struck out on my own." Anticipating his next question, she continued. "Marianne did not wish you to know, so I did not tell you. Not that it matters now."

Lelouch managed to stifle whatever anger that particular revelation provoked. Instead, he turned back to Marianne. "Why are you here?"

"I need a reason to see my son?" she said innocently.

"Don't play games," he admonished. "You came here to see C.C., not me. That must mean you need her for something. What is it?"

"Perceptive as always," she noted. "She is a necessary part of our plan."

"Which is?" he asked. Marianne remained silent. "Have it your way, then. I'll just have to ask the Emperor when we attack Kamine Island. I trust you won't try to leave on your own."

"You don't trust me?" Marianne asked.

"I haven't much reason to at the moment," he replied. "I'm glad you're alive, but if you're not going to explain the Emperor's plan, I'm not about to let you use C.C. to complete it." Kallen was left dumbfounded by the entire exchange, so much so that she almost didn't notice when Lelouch addressed her. "The preparations for the attack should be nearly finished. You should get to your Guren."

"Uh, right," Kallen managed, deciding that the best thing to do was take the chance to leave this awkward family reunion. "I'm glad you're back, C.C." C.C. just smiled. "And nice to meet you, uh… Marianne." Saying that to Anya felt weird.

"Likewise," Marianne offered. "C.C. has said some nice things about you."

Kallen considered asking just what C.C. had said, but couldn't bring herself to. "That's good to hear. Well, goodbye then." With that, Kallen walked out the door.

* * *

Kallen stepped out the elevator and onto the hanger deck. As she made her way to the Guren, she found Ohgi there waiting for her. "You should be on the bridge," she said coldly, not quite ready to forgive him for the earlier betrayal.

"Why do you trust Zero," he asked, "knowing everything he has done?"

"I know what you know and far more," she stated, "and I trust him because I know he does it to make this world better."

"What about everyone he's killed through his Geass?" he said. "What good is this better world to them?"

"When I first learned who Zero is and what he is capable of," she began, "I left him to die at the hands of Suzaku. Then I had a year to learn about him, everything he's done and everything he fights for. That's why I came back, because Zero is the only one who can make our dream a reality. People die, sometimes as casualties of war, sometimes as sacrifices, and sometimes as unintended victims, but to throw away everything just because of that would render all that suffering meaningless. What will they have died for if nothing good comes of it?"

"People aren't pawns in some game," he insisted.

"Everyone has hopes and dreams," she countered, "even the Britannians we kill. But we kill them because they oppose us. They're pieces on the opposing side, just as we are pieces for our side. However, that doesn't mean there isn't more to it. Right now, you're like I was, blinded by the ugly truth that Zero is flawed like any other person. Maybe if you consider everything he's done for us you won't be so quick to judge." Ohgi was about to say something else, but she cut him off. "That's all I plan to say on the matter. You should be on the bridge."

Ohgi wisely decided not to push the issue. "Very well. Good luck, Kallen." As Ohgi walked away, Kallen wondered if she got through to him. He had been stuck on Zero using them as pawns the first time, too, and she couldn't bring herself to protest then.

Kallen put it out of her mind and turned to the upcoming battle. Two Knights of the Round, the Knight of One and Gino, would be there, in addition to the threat of FLEIJA and the combined might of the remaining Britannian forces. The Knight of One would be a challenge, she knew. Suzaku had faced him in the Albion and Bismarck had managed to keep up somehow. But if Suzaku could win, so could she. FLEIJA was out of her control, though. She could only hope Schenizel wouldn't fire it with Nunnally in the way.

* * *

Once the battle began, Kallen took up position beside the Shinkiro, waiting for an opening so they could move on the Emperor's flagship. Accounting for the destructive potential of FLEIJA, Lelouch had ordered the Black Knights into close combat, ensuring that any use of the weapon would cost Britannia almost as much as it would them. Thankfully they hadn't tried to use it while they were on approach; Lelouch had anticipated that and made sure units were in place to shoot down the warhead if it was spotted.

As they waited, she noticed Gino heading for their position. She opened up a communication line. "Gino, I don't want to kill you, please retreat."

"Just as Zero rescued you," Gino said, "I have to rescue Suzaku."

"Remember what you told me in prison?" she asked. "You said, 'As long as Tristan and I are here, your dreams won't come true.' Now I'm telling you the same."

"Then we have no choice but to fight," he insisted, closing the channel. Kallen sighed.

To Kallen's surprise, battling Gino actually proved a little more difficult than battling Suzaku. Of course, Suzaku's battle strategy relied entirely on that Hadron blaster, and once that was gone he was toast in close combat. Gino was being smart, staying in jet form and trying to keep out of reach.

Kallen stopped pursuing in order to lure him into attacking. Sure enough, Gino turned and fired one of the giant Slash Harkens mounted on the Tristan's arm. Kallen fried it using the Guren's radiation arm while seizing the cable with the other hand. With a strong pull, the Tristan lurched forward against its will, and that was all it took for her own Slash Harkens to get a clear shot at his Float System, smashing it. Over the ocean as they were, Gino would not be joining the battle again.

Gino's defeat was rather timely, as the Black Knights had successfully opened a small hole in the enemy's line. Taking the opportunity, she and Lelouch headed for the gap. Normally it would be unwise for two lone Knightmares to make such a charge, but his Shinkiro, with its unrivaled defense, and her Guren, worth an army of Knightmares by itself, were the exception to the rule.

Breaking through to the flagship didn't take long, and many Knightmares had fallen in their ill-conceived attempts to stop them. Lelouch used the Shinkiro's pinpoint laser to knock out the flagship's guns. As he did, Kallen caught sight of a shuttle landing by the cave near the beach. None other than the Emperor, accompanied by four strangely-dressed men, stepped out of it. "Zero," she yelled after opening a channel, "he's down on the beach."

Before either of them could move to intercept, the Knight of One came in, heading straight for the Shinkiro. Kallen moved to intercept him, blocking his sword with the radiant surge. Even with the radiation pulse assisting the block, the stress on the arm was just barely under maximum tolerance. Kallen had known he would be a tough opponent, but it was still a surprise.

"I will not allow you to harm his Majesty," Bismarck announced, preparing for another attack.

"Zero, go after the Emperor," Kallen said. "I'll keep him from interfering."

"Thank you, Kallen," Lelouch replied, "but be careful. His title is not just for show." Lelouch moved to follow the Emperor. Bismarck's distraction had been enough for him to get to the cave, so she couldn't track Lelouch once he followed him inside.

Bismarck tried to pursue Lelouch, but Kallen cut him off. "I'm your opponent, not him."

"The Ace of the Black Knights," Bismarck said. "I hear you're quite the fearsome opponent."

"I've heard the same of you," she replied, "but that won't be enough. This is as far as you go."

"We'll see about that," he taunted, and moved in to attack. He swung his sword in a forward slash, but Kallen dodged, testing his movements. She fired her Slash Harkens as another test, which he easily parried. Kallen repositioned the wings so the Guren would move at top speed. Even if Bismarck follow her movements, he couldn't match the Guren in speed and maneuverability. Though he couldn't match her speed, he still managed to dodge. He even managed a few close strikes in return.

Things only got stranger when he managed to hook her with the Galahad's Slash Harken fingers and disrupt her flight. This wasn't just reflex; he knew where she was going. Now she knew why he had kept up. Something was allowing him to know where she was going beforehand. Kallen clenched the control sticks. It was one thing to fight someonee with good reflexes, it was quite another to fight someone who simply knew what was going to happen. She wasn't sure how she was going to beat him. Suzaku had simply cut him in half, but he had two full swords. She had a single, half-size fork knife that wasn't nearly as suited to cutting as his blades were. Regardless, she'd figure something out, because there was no way she'd allow Bismarck to get past her.


	8. Ragnarok

Kallen considered her options against Bismarck. That sword of his eliminated most plans of attack. Long-range attacks probably wouldn't work. He'd just dodge them or block with the sword. Close-range attacks would also be dangerous, considering what happened the last time she tried to block. The Galahad's fingers were Slash Harkens, but weren't large enough to catch with her fork knife. If she could cut them, though, he wouldn't be able to hold the sword.

She decided to go with that strategy, and resumed her quick attacks, watching carefully for any response. It took him a while, but he eventually tried the Slash Harkens. Kallen prepared to cut them, but he saw it coming and stopped them before they came in range. She cursed her luck, but that at least told her something. He saw her attack coming, but just barely.

Even knowing that, however, she knew that strategy alone wasn't going to work. She stopped her high-speed flight and began to close in. Even if he could see her attacks coming, overwhelming him was the only thing she could think of at the moment. Arming the radiant surge, she fired a long range blast. Bismarck blocked it with the sword, which then began glowing with pink energy, deflecting her blast. She tried a wide range blast, but he moved out of its path. The energy disc would be pointless, she figured.

Bismarck moved in to attack, using another forward slash that Kallen just barely blocked by folding her wings forward. As she backed off, he moved in and repeated the attack, which Kallen could not quite avoid this time. Thankfully, it struck the energy portion of her right wing. The sword broke through, but the wing just reset itself.

Kallen countered, using her fork knife to hook his sword so she could get a clear shot with her radiant surge. Bismarck managed to twist out of the way, freeing his sword and backing off. As Kallen considered what to do next, her attention turned to the cave, a cloud of dust emanating from it. The realization struck her immediately: an explosion. The cave only had one tunnel which ended at those strange ruins, so there were not many things that could explode inside. If Lelouch wasn't responsible, and even if he was, he was probably in danger, which meant she needed to win quickly.

Bismarck came in for another attack, attempting to cut straight through her with a downward slash. Kallen rushed at him, adjusting for his attempts to dodge. She collided with him at full speed, pinning his sword with her radiant surge. She didn't let up on the throttle, pushing him into the cliff face a short distance from the cave. "You've been predicting my movements," she announced, "but I bet that won't matter if you can't move."

"What?" Bismarck exclaimed, having apparently seen what was coming.

"Goodbye," Kallen replied, priming the wide range burst. The Galahad's left arm was pinned beneath his sword, so he raised the right to fire the fingers. Kallen seized it with her left hand. She triggered the burst; though his sword blocked a fair portion of the blast, enough of it bled over to fry the Galahad just above the chest and below the waist.

When the burst subsided, the Galahad was warped but intact. Its Float System was inoperable, though, and she doubted it would be capable of precision movement with its legs damaged. Kallen let go, allowing the Galahad to plummet the short distance to the ground. To her surprise, Bismarck could still move it, though standing seemed to be difficult. Unwilling to let him threaten her rescue attempt, she blasted the Galahad again, destroying it.

With Bismarck dispatched, Kallen landed and raced into the cave. The Shinkiro was intact, its cockpit open. The four strange men were lying on the ground, dead. No one else was present that she could see. Then her eyes turned to the ruins, blown apart by explosives. Recalling the original look, she realized that it had a crease down the middle, like a giant door, even though there was clearly nothing behind what was left of it. If it was a door, Lelouch must have destroyed it to seal the Emperor in, and was probably stuck in there with him. She didn't get why he would do such a thing, but she wasn't about to leave it be. She couldn't fix the ruins, but she knew two people who probably could.

* * *

Kallen made her way back to the Ikaruga, leaving orders with Tohdoh to make sure no one attempted to enter the cave. After landing, she rushed to Zero's room. C.C. and Marianne were still there, not that they could leave with the Mordred under guard.

"Kallen?" C.C. asked. "Where's Lelouch?"

"In trouble," Kallen replied. "He blew up the ruins on Kamine Island. You two are coming with me to fix it."

Marianne spoke up. "My, quite the devoted subordinate."

"Not now," Kallen growled. "Move." She pointed to the door to punctuate the command.

Marianne complied, as did C.C. after smirking, no doubt amused by Kallen's attitude. Kallen escorted them to the hanger. The guards were surprised, but she ordered them to stand down. Being the captain of Squad Zero had its benefits. "You two take the Mordred," she ordered.

* * *

It hadn't taken long to get back to the cave. Tohdoh had done as asked, though given that most of the enemy forces were busy, that wasn't much of a surprise. Kallen dismounted from the Guren as Marianne and C.C. left the Mordred. Marianne went to work on the control box near the broken ruins.

Needing some answers, Kallen turned to C.C. "What are these ruins?" she asked.

"A portal," C.C. explained, "to the World of C."

"The World of C?" Kallen said.

"The simplest way to describe it," C.C. began, "would be 'God'. It is the collective unconscious for the entire world, a place where one's heart and memories become one; a sea of metempsychosis. Humans are given masks by this collective unconsciousness; they are windows into the sea of one's heart and memories."

Marianne cut in. "It's too broken to fix," she stated. "You do it, C.C."

"Are you sure you want to go in?" C.C. asked.

"Of course," she said, "Charles is waiting for us. It would have been easier if you just gave him your Code." C.C. remained silent. "Fine, I'll go ahead then." Marianne squeezed C.C.'s hand as she put her other hand on the door, causing it to light up.

Kallen watched, the meaning of Marianne's comment not quite reaching her. The light cut off after a few seconds, and Anya's body collapsed. It occurred to Kallen that she probably should have caught her. Anya seemed ok, but couldn't be revived.

"Marianne's no longer there," C.C. stated. "It's just Anya now."

Kallen sighed. "You were supposed to fix it, not send in Marianne alone." Grabbing some of the cables from the useless control box, she tied Anya's arms and legs.

"Is that really necessary?" C.C. asked. "She is unconscious, after all."

"If she wakes up while we're in there," Kallen stated, "then our Knightmares will be at her mercy. I just got the Guren back, I'm not about to lose it again."

"If I open it so we can enter," C.C. said, "you'll be giving the Emperor what he needs."

"If anyone can stop the Emperor, it's Lelouch," Kallen stated confidently. "Would you rather leave him trapped in there?"

"You certainly are motivated," C.C. noted. "Lelouch is lucky to have someone like you." Kallen blushed, and C.C. just grinned. "Put your hand on the door like Marianne did."

Kallen complied, and C.C.'s forehead began glowing. The ruins lit up again in tandem, growing ever brighter until she couldn't see anything at all.

* * *

When the light subsided, Kallen could hardly believe her eyes. They were standing on the ruins of some temple, high above the clouds. Looking up, Jupiter inexplicably floated above them, the Great Red Spot angled down at them like a giant eye. A spiral of material she couldn't identify reached up to that spot. "Where are we?" she asked.

"The World of C," C.C. stated. "This is the form it takes to humans. That which we're standing on is the Sword of Akasha."

"Where can we find Lelouch?" Kallen said.

"At the top, I would assume," C.C. replied.

In the distance, Kallen could make out a voice, unmistakable in its booming tone. Sound carried rather well in here. "Once lies are deemed useless," the Emperor said, "personae disappear. If people can understand each other, conflicts disappear."

Kallen stopped herself and C.C. "Lelouch doesn't seem to be in trouble yet. I want to hear this first." This had something to do with that strange green light that had appeared over Kamine Island the first time. Now she'd figure out what caused it.

"You seem more curious than I remember," C.C. noted.

Kallen fumbled for an excuse. "I just want to understand what's happening, is all." C.C. merely smirked.

"That is merely an ideal theory of metaphysics," Lelouch replied.

"It shall become reality very soon," the Emperor said. "That is the Ragnarok Junction. The world will cast off its deceitful mask and show its skin of truth. 50 years ago, my brother and I were in a living hell. All our kinsmen were rivals who wanted the throne. Assassinations were commonplace and lies led to betrayals. Even my own mother was a victim. We hated and were saddened by the world, so made a pact: we would create a world without lies."

"C.C. and I agreed to that pact, as well," said Marianne.

Kallen turned to C.C. "Is that still true?" C.C. remained silent, and Kallen decided against pushing the matter.

"In the original plan," Marianne continued, "only one Code was needed. But further research revealed that we needed a second Code, C.C., to make sure the plan would succeed."

"Since Marianne couldn't persuade C.C.," the Emperor said, "we had to use you."

"Then, for what have I…" Lelouch trailed off in mid-sentence.

"Let's go, C.C.," Kallen said, heading for the steps. C.C. followed.

"If the Ragnarok Junction is successful," the Emperor stated, "then such tragedies will no longer take place."

"All masks will be gone," Marianne added. "We can all be who we really are."

"I see," Lelouch mused. "The battles between Britannia and the Black Knights were just bait to lure C.C. out. In other words, I was just noise for the world from the very beginning; a hindrance." Lelouch turned to greet Kallen and C.C. "What do you two think?"

"You noticed us?" C.C. asked.

"It's the only way my mother could have come here," Lelouch responded. "I suppose you brought them, Kallen?"

"I wouldn't have had to if you hadn't blown up the door," Kallen said.

"C.C.," the Emperor interrupted, "now that we are all gathered, the plan can commence. We shall grant your wish afterward." Kallen watched as a mark lit up on the Emperor's palm, identical to that on C.C.'s forehead. Her mark and his glowed in tandem and the world around them crumbled, revealing a machine of impossible size. Only Jupiter and the spiral leading to it remained.

"Ah, it has begun," Marianne said happily, "the Sword of Akasha will kill God."

"Once we merge our marks together," the Emperor stated to C.C., "the new world shall be born."

As he approached, Kallen turned to Lelouch. "Are you really ok with this?"

"You're not?" Lelouch asked.

"I'd be lying if I said I understand it completely," Kallen admitted, "but discovering the truth is what I've been trying to do with you all this time. What point is there to life if such discovery is unnecessary? People won't have any motivation to act if they don't have to make any effort to learn. It sounds wrong to me."

"Hmm," Lelouch said, "well put." He stepped into the Emperor's path, shielding C.C. "I won't approve of you, or your train of thought. Why do people lie? The answer isn't only because it's used for conflicts, but because they yearn for something. A world just as it is will bring no change. You don't call that being alive. It's just like a world of memories; a complete and secluded world. I do not want that."

"Lelouch," Marianne said, "are you going to deny me, as well?"

"Your wish is the same as his then?" Lelouch asked.

"It's a good thing to reunite everyone scattered around." Marianne replied. "You can even become one with the dead. You could see Euphemia again." She turned to Kallen. "Haven't you lost people you would like to see again?" Kallen froze for a moment, thinking of her brother.

"So you two really do believe this is a good thing," Lelouch continued. "However, you are forcing this good on others. It's no different from evil."

"Everyone will understand eventually," the Emperor stated calmly.

"They won't," Lelouch angrily retorted. "Right now, only one thing is clear. You may believe sending Nunnally and I away was a good thing, but you abandoned us!"

"We were trying to protect you," Marianne protested.

"Then why not stop the war between Britannia and Japan?" Lelouch countered. That left Marianne at a loss for words. "When you two prioritized the plan, our well-being no longer mattered. That's why we were abandoned, leaving us with nothing but a self-satisfying excuse."

"That's not how it was," Marianne said.

"You just said that people could become one with the dead," Lelouch reminded her. "Our safety didn't matter, because as long as the plan went through you'd get to see us again. You don't care about the future."

"The Ragnarok Junction is the future," Charles stated. "It's the gentle world Nunnally spoke of."

"No it isn't," Lelouch insisted. "The world you speak of is merely a world gentle to yourselves! The world Nunnally desires must be a world where people can be kind to others."

"So what?" the Emperor scoffed. "The Ragnarok Junction has already begun."

"I wonder," Lelouch replied. "I am Zero, the man of miracles." He removed his contact as he did so.

"Geass doesn't work on me, and the others can't stop it," the Emperor replied.

"But there's one person you're forgetting," Lelouch pointed out. The Emperor's face went from confusion to disbelief. "That's right. The World of C is the will of all humans, and humans aren't equal; your own words. Because they are not equal, you know what that means of my power, right?"

"Fool," the Emperor exclaimed, "the power of kings cannot defeat God."

"This isn't about winning," Lelouch countered, "this is a wish." Facing the sky, Lelouch called out to the planet above. "God! The collective unconsciousness!" Jupiter began to glow in response. "Do not stop the progress of time!"

Kallen caught sight of Marianne charging in. "Lelouch, naughty children like you…" She stopped when Kallen moved between them.

"I'd rather not beat up my friend's mother," Kallen said, "so stay back. You're not going to force your world on everyone."

"Isn't there anyone you've lost that you want to see again?" Marianne asked.

Kallen found it somewhat ironic that she was helping to oppose this. She was changing history to save Lelouch, after all. She knew this was worse, though. She was saving Lelouch, possibly at the expense of a better future, but she had the choice to go back and people would still persevere either way. There would be no going back from this. "Not if it means the entire world grinds to a halt," she replied.

"There's no way it can work," the Emperor said to Lelouch, "not on God – not on humans themselves."

"Even so," Lelouch insisted, "I desire tomorrow!" At that, the symbol of Geass lit up on Jupiter, dissolving the spiral from the top down into its individual pieces, which Kallen now recognized as people. The machinery around them fell apart as the spiral continued to dissolve.

"Charles, stop all of this," C.C. said, sitting down. "This was all just too preposterous."

"C.C., as long as our marks still exist-." The Emperor stopped in mid-sentence when he noticed his legs had dissolved. When Marianne went to him, she began to dissolve, too.

"This is the answer not of lies," Lelouch explained, "but of reality."

"How can this be?" the Emperor exclaimed. "I should be immortal, yet I'm being devoured by the World of C."

"But what about C.C.?" Marianne asked. "Why isn't she disappearing? She agreed to this plan, didn't she?"

"Forgive me," C.C. said, "but I realized that you two were only doing it for yourselves."

"No, that's wrong," Marianne protested. "It was for Lelouch and Nunnally as well."

"Do you two know the meaning of Nunnally's smile?" Lelouch asked.

"Her smile?" Marianne responded quizzically.

"Why don't you?" Lelouch responded. "Nunnally cannot see or walk, so she knew that there are things in this world people can't do alone. Her smile is the very least she can give to express her gratitude."

"Such deceptions are..." the Emperor began.

"You will not call it a lie," Lelouch said, cutting him off. "You looked down upon us, watching delightfully as you neglected reality. I won't accept that. The only truth here is that you abandoned us."

"Lelouch," the Emperor growled. If it were any other situation, Kallen would have laughed at seeing the Emperor rocket across the room in superhero fashion to grab Lelouch. "You obnoxious fool!"

"Stay back, Kallen," Lelouch insisted.

"Deny me and what awaits you will be Schenizel's world," the Emperor explained. "Good and evil are merely two sides of the same card. Even so, you would…"

"Even so, I deny your world," Lelouch announced. "Begone!" At his command, the Emperor and Marianne vanished completely. The machinery around them fell dark, rendered useless by the will of humanity. "C.C., are you going, as well?"

"I should be smiling when I die, right?" she responded. "What do you plan to do now, having denied Charles' plan and chosen to let time move ahead?"

Lelouch didn't answer, instead turning around to face her. When he did, Kallen noticed that both of his eyes now glowed with the Geass symbol. "Your eyes," she pointed out.

"Ah, I thought I felt something weird," Lelouch remarked. "I guess this contact won't be enough anymore." He pocketed it.

"We should go," Kallen said. "Everyone's probably wondering where Zero is, and if all of this had any effect on the outside world, then there's probably a lot of confused people out there."

"Indeed," Lelouch replied, "but I don't think they'll believe I just killed the Emperor."

"It doesn't matter what they believe," Kallen replied. "You still have the power to make Nunnally's world a reality, and if what the Emperor said about Schenizel is true, then the man standing in the way is out there waiting for us."

"Then I guess we should go greet him," Lelouch said as he helped C.C. to her feet.

Together, the three of them walked toward the exit. Kallen finally felt optimistic. Before, Lelouch hadn't had anything to go back to, and only his former enemy and C.C. by his side. Now, the Black Knights were wary but still somewhat loyal, and he was with two friends. Hopefully he could change things without resorting to the extreme measures he used the last time.


	9. Negotiations

Kallen, C.C., and Lelouch stepped back into the cave. Lelouch had put his Zero mask back on, just in case. Anya was still there, now awake and attempting to free herself. She stopped upon noticing the three of them. Lelouch took a moment to survey the area, taking note of the Mordred in particular. "Kallen?" he asked.

"I was in a hurry," Kallen protested, "and I couldn't exactly fit all three in the Guren's cockpit."

Lelouch sighed. "Untie her." Kallen stared in disbelief. "It will be fine. Go ahead." Kallen complied, releasing Anya from the cables restraining her. Anya stood up slowly. "You can leave once we're gone," Lelouch told her.

"Why are you letting me go? Anya asked.

"You were brought here against your will," Lelouch explained, "and there would be very little benefit in capturing you." With that, Lelouch turned and headed for the Shinkiro, followed by C.C. Kallen went to her Guren, keeping an eye on Anya.

"Are you sure letting her go is a good idea?" Kallen asked Lelouch.

"She won't remember anything," Lelouch said, "so there's no harm in it. You've already taken out a fair portion of the Knights of the Round."

Kallen stopped Lelouch just as they reached their Knightmares. "Why did you try to seal yourself in that place with the Emperor? Wasn't there any other way to stop him?"

"The Emperor escaped into the Sword of Akasha before I could get past his guards," Lelouch explained. "He couldn't be killed and was immune to Geass. The only way I could think of to stop him was to seal him away. However, the first time I thought I did that, he found a way out. I had to be sure he wouldn't get away this time."

"You'd give up everything just to stop him?" Kallen asked, her tone conveying her displeasure.

Picking up on that, Lelouch placed his hand on her shoulder in a gesture of comfort. "I'm sorry for worrying you. He needed to be stopped, and I let that goal get the better of me."

"Thank you," said Kallen. Without warning, she then jabbed him in the ribs. "But don't ever pull something like that again."

"Alright, alright," Leouch replied, grabbing his side where she punched him. C.C just laughed.

Kallen felt better after that. "What were you planning to do in the first place, anyway?"

"Immortal or not, he wouldn't have easily recovered from being attacked by a Knightmare," Lelouch said. "I was going to kill him temporarily until he could be contained. Once he entered the Sword of Akasha, though, my Knightmare meant nothing."

"At least you had a plan that didn't involve self-sacrifice," Kallen said, relieved.

The three of them boarded their Knightmares, Kallen watching Anya to make sure she stayed in place until they did. Kallen took off first, followed by Lelouch. Outside the cave, the fighting had stopped completely. No doubt the sky inexplicably glowing had shocked both parties. Anya left the cave a few moments later in the Mordred. She headed straight for the Avalon.

After about a minute of silence, the Britannian forces began to regroup. Lelouch's voice came over an open channel as they did. "All units fall back." He then switched to a closed channel to speak to Kallen directly. "We're heading back to the Ikaruga. It seems Schenizel wants to talk."

"Right," Kallen replied. She set course for the Ikaruga, keeping pace just behind Lelouch.

* * *

After landing on the Ikaruga, Kallen and Lelouch waited for Schneizel's shuttle. Once he landed, they headed for the conference room. Schenizel insisted on meeting with Zero alone first, so the only other people there besides them were Kallen and Kanon. Both Schenizel and Kanon had taken the precaution of wearing shades to block Lelouch's Geass.

Schenizel began the conversation. "Kallen Kouzuki, Ace of the Black Knights. It's a pleasure. Your reputation precedes you."

"Thank you," Kallen replied.

"Do you trust her?" Schenizel asked Lelouch.

"There's no need to keep secrets," Lelouch said. "She knows everything you do."

"So my brother does trust people after all," Schenizel replied in an amused tone. "Then would you mind removing your mask? It's such an impersonal way to communicate." Lelouch did as asked, revealing the Geass symbols in his eyes. "My, my, Suzaku's description of your Geass hardly does it justice."

"You came here to speak with me," Lelouch pointed out. "What is it you wish to talk about?"

"You were spotted entering the cave that our father entered," Schenizel began, "and soon after that the sky light up for unexplained reasons all over the world. When it subsided, you left the cave alone. I sent a scout to check it after you left. The bodies of four unidentified men were found, but the Emperor was no among them."

"He's dead," Lelouch replied frankly.

Lelouch's serious manner caught both Schenizel and Kanon off-guard, but Schenizel quickly recovered. "Why should I believe you?" he asked. "What proof can you provide?"

"I have no proof," Lelouch stated calmly, "but you will not see him again. You can do whatever you like with the information. He will not be returning to his throne."

Schenizel didn't bother to push the issue. "And the lights in the sky?"

"Our father was attempting to remake the world into something more to his liking," Lelouch explained. "Surely you must have been aware that he was engaging in unusual research."

"I am aware of his interest in the ruins on Kamine Island and those like it," Schenizel said. "If what you say about our father is true, then it seems a change of leadership will soon be required."

"Do you plan to fill that void?" Lelouch asked.

"If that's what people want of me," Schenizel responded. "For now, there are more immediate concerns."

Lelouch narrowed his eyes. "Such as?"

"You've captured several things of great import to Britannia," Schenizel noted. "Suzaku, your sister Nunnally, and one of my new weapons."

"FLEIJA," Lelouch said, giving a name to Schneizel's vague allusion. "I have no intention of returning that. I also have our sister Cornelia and her knight Guilford. I would be willing to return them."

Kanon suddenly spoke up. "Princess Cornelia has been missing for over a year. How is it that she is in your custody?"

"She took it upon herself to investigate Geass," Lelouch explained. "She was captured when her investigation overlapped with my own."

"What do you want in exchange for them?" Schenizel asked.

"Japan," Lelouch stated plainly. "Two of the Knights of the Round are dead, the Knight of One among them. The Knight of Seven is also in our custody. In addition to that we are holding Viceroy Nunnally and one of the FLEIJA bombs. If this battle continues, you will lose."

"Even if you have one of the FLEIJA bombs, I have more to use," Schenizel noted.

"If you did, your forces would be destroyed with ours," Lelouch countered, "and even if you have more you do not have them all with you. I suspect you only have one or two more, at the most."

Schenizel smiled. "Do you plan to release Kururugi and Nunnally, as well?"

"Suzaku is Japanese," Lelouch said, "and his efforts up to this point have been focused on freeing Japan. Assuming you agree to relinquish control of Japan, he will be given the choice to stay or go. As for Nunnally…" Lelouch paused for a moment. "I will have to speak to her."

"We will have to finalize these arrangements with the rest of your staff," Schenizel pointed out. "Shall we recess while you have them gathered?"

"Very well," Lelouch agreed. "I will have Cornelia and Guilford brought down."

"What about Suzaku and Nunnally?" Schenizel inquired.

"As I said, I will speak to Nunnally," Lelouch reiterated.

"And I'll speak to Suzaku," Kallen added.

"We will wait here, then," Schenizel said.

* * *

As Kallen and Lelouch waited in the elevator, Kallen turned to Lelouch. "I can hardly believe it. You convinced Schenizel to give up Japan."

"Schenizel doesn't care about territory," Lelouch replied, "and he tends to avoid force where possible. However, he must have something else planned."

Kallen knew that Damocles was that unknown plan, but couldn't mention it. "You'll work something out, whatever happens. For now, we finally took back Japan."

"Yes, we have," he said.

"Do you plan on revealing your identity to Nunnally?" she asked.

Lelouch paused. "I'm not sure. I'll think of something." He decided to change the subject. "What do you plan to say to Suzaku?"

"You said he was trying to free Japan," she noted. "How?"

"He wanted to become Knight of One and take control of Japan," he explained, "essentially turning it into a protectorate."

Kallen laughed. "Then I guess this is going to be a fun conversation. Looks like his job opportunities just expanded and got worse at the same time."

"Try not to be too mean," Lelouch chided. "It would be beneficial if he decided to stay in Japan instead of helping our enemies."

Kallen thought of the Lancelot Albion, no doubt waiting for Suzaku back in Britannia. It would be easier to get him to stay. "Of course, I'll do my best." The elevator stopped at the detention level and she stepped out. "Good luck."

"You too," Lelouch offered before the door closed.

Kallen walked over to Suzaku's cell. He looked up to regard her. "What is it now?"

"I heard you wanted to become Knight of One so you would control Japan," she said.

"That's right," he confirmed. "Once I control Japan, there will be no need for Zero."

Kallen retrieved a nearby chair and sat down in front of his cell. "Then I have some good news and some bad news for you."

"The good news first," he said.

"If being the Knight of One is your goal, then the position just opened up," she said proudly. It felt good to know she had beaten the Empire's strongest knight.

"It can't be," Suzaku exclaimed. "You beat him?"

"Of course," she replied. "Who else would have?"

Suzaku's surprise faded when he remembered there was more to it. "What's the bad news?"

"The bad news," she began, "is that even if you are given the position, you will not get to control Japan."

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because Schenizel is giving Japan to us," she stated. Suzaku was at a loss for words, so she continued. "As part of the deal, we're going to release you. But we're also giving you a choice. You can go with Britannia, or you can stay here in Japan."

Suzaku regarded Kallen with suspicion. "Why give me this option?"

"It was Zero's idea, not mine," she corrected. "Even he recognizes that you had good intentions."

"Even if Schenizel is willing to give you Japan," Suzaku said, "the Emperor will not let you keep it."

"He won't be a problem," she said with a smirk. "Zero killed him."

"You're lying," he said, though his tone carried an air of uncertainty that suggested he believed her.

"You don't have to believe me," she stated calmly, "but the choice is still there for you to make. You can stay in Japan with the people you're trying to help or go back to Britannia and help our oppressors."

"So you expect me to help you fight Britannia?" Suzaku asked.

"I didn't say that," Kallen replied, "and you're not in any position to help with the Lancelot in its current condition. You're free to do what you want." Before he could respond, she continued. "You don't have to decide now. We're still finalizing the details, so you have time to think about it."

"What about Nunnally?" he asked.

"She gets the same choice," she explained. "Zero's speaking to her."

"I'd like to speak to Nunnally," Suzaku said.

"I'm not about to interrupt Zero," Kallen replied. "You can speak to her after you're released." Taking note of the clock on the wall, she stood up. "The meeting will probably start soon. I should be going." Suzaku said nothing, apparently considering his options, so she headed back to the elevator.

* * *

Kallen reached Nunnally's room just as Lelouch exited. She waited until they went back to the elevator before asking about the meeting. "Did you tell Nunnally?"

"She figured it out on her own," Lelouch admitted.

That caught Kallen by surprise. "And how did she take it?"

"Not well," he said, "but no worse than I would have expected."

"I'm sure she'll forgive you in time," Kallen offered.

"I hope so," Lelouch replied. "How'd your meeting with Suzaku go?"

"Needless to say," she began, "he certainly was surprised. I let him think it over. I'm not sure which way he'll go. How about Nunnally?"

"The same," he said. "She'll need time to process this." The elevator began to slow, having reached the hanger. "Xingke, Kaguya, and the Tianzi should be here by now."

Kallen nodded as the doors slid open. As Lelouch had guessed, their shuttle had arrived. Diethard, Ohgi, and Tohdoh were already there to greet them. It didn't take long for Kaguya to notice Zero, and it took even less time for her to bolt across the room and hug him.

"Hello, my husband," she said gleefully, hanging from his shoulders.

"Lively as always, Kaguya," Lelouch replied, setting her back down.

"Zero," Xingke interrupted, "do you have an explanation for the strange lights over Kamine Island?"

"I shall explain later, Xingke," Lelouch said. "For now, there are negotiations with Schenizel to attend to." He motioned to the elevator. "He's waiting in the conference room."

"I was told he already spoke with you," Xingke noted. "Did you two agree to anything?"

"Schenizel is willing to relinquish Japan," Lelouch stated, catching the group off-guard.

"Then it appears we have much to discuss," Xingke pointed out. With that, he headed to the elevator. The others followed suit.


	10. Independent Japan

The negotiations ran for nearly an hour, and Kallen drifted in and out during the semantics. Arrangements had to be made for a smooth transition of government, allowing those who wished to leave the country to do so, and other such details. Zero's identity had been brought up early in the meeting, but since the other leading members of the Black Knights save for Kaguya and Xingke had already been made aware of the details, they decided to handle the matter internally.

Once the details were settled, Schenizel decided to finish the meeting in a most unusual way: he asked for a rematch against Lelouch to make up for their unfinished game. After many moves and strategies Kallen couldn't follow, they eventually came to a draw.

"Sooner or later one of us will have to come out victorious," Schenizel pointed out.

"Until that day, brother," Lelouch replied, even sealing the promise with a handshake.

With the meeting finished, Schenizel returned to his shuttle with Cornelia, Guilford, and Kanon. Nunnally and Suzaku both decided to stay: as the Viceory, Nunnally wanted to assist in the government changeover, and Suzaku insisted on remaining to protect her. A separate shuttle returned them to the government building.

The subject turned to Zero once those matters were finalized. Needless to say, reactions were mixed on what was to be done with him. Schenizel's evidence, though not completely accurate, hadn't helped matters. Tohdoh had been particularly irate over the destruction of the Japan Liberation Front tanker, but in light of the recent successes Lelouch had brought them, still believed he was an overall benefit to their cause. To Kallen's disappointment, Ohgi was much more negative, insisting that Lelouch couldn't be trusted. Diethard was naturally supportive in spite of the evidence. Xingke, lacking any attachments to most of the victims Schenizel's evidence outlined, took a rather pragmatic view, as he had used the Black Knights as a political tool just as they had done with the Chinese Federation. Kaguya had remained fairly quiet, her faith in Zero no doubt shaken by the sudden revelation.

Ultimately, they came to the conclusion that any action taken against Zero would have to be subtle, as they were unwilling to execute him but at the same time did not trust him to hold such a position of authority without more oversight. Likewise, the supernatural means by which his various crimes were committed made publicly punishing him difficult. As a temporary solution, the chain of command was rearranged so decisions would have to be made jointly by both Xingke and Zero.

* * *

Kallen headed back to her room to change out of her pilot suit, since there wouldn't be any fighting for a while. Todd wasn't around, and she found it a bit odd that he hadn't bothered her at any point during the Emperor's attempt to change the world. She expected him to pop up sooner or later, though.

Once she changed into her casual clothing - the shorts of her Black Knights' uniform and a yellow tank top - Kallen turned on the TV, wanting to see how the news of Japan's freedom came out. The Ikaruga could access feeds from all over the globe, so she went through a small sample of channels from different nations. Those allied with the UFN reported it as "liberated" while Britannian channels reported it as "given," each spinning it their own way.

The news was nothing new, and she had nothing better to do, so Kallen decided to see Lelouch. However, when she reached his quarters, it was C.C. who greeted her.

"Where's Lelouch?" Kallen asked.

"Meeting with Suzaku," she replied simply.

That concerned Kallen. Even with Japan under the Black Knights' control, she did not trust him to be alone with Lelouch. "Why didn't he say anything?"

"He knew you would insist on coming," she explained, "and he wanted the meeting to be private."

Kallen frowned. "Never mind, then," she said, turning to leave.

"Come for another kiss?" C.C. suddenly called out.

Kallen blushed uncontrollably, stuttering out a half-finished reply. "H-How did you…"

"…know?" she finished. "I remember everything that happened during that time my memories were sealed. I never would have figured you to be so forward."

"I was just grateful," Kallen said. Trying to think of a way to change the subject, she turned it back on C.C. "Does it bother you?"

"Of course not," C.C. replied casually. She smiled and stared up, recalling something. "I've been alive a long time, you know. Even Kaguya's harem idea is tame compared to some of the things I've done."

Kallen thought better of asking her to elaborate on that. Some things were better left unsaid. Instead she sat down on the bench. "So, how were things with you while I was gone?"

"Uneventful," C.C. replied. "Lelouch spent the entire time in Japan setting things up, then my memories were sealed shortly after he came back to deal with the Geass Cult."

"You mean that massacre of women and children the others found out about?" Kallen inquired.

"Yes, that's the one," C.C. confirmed. "It was awfully careless of him to let knowledge of that slip out."

"It doesn't matter now," Kallen replied. "They're willing to deal with it, just like everything else he did." Kallen wasn't quite sure where to take the conversation from there. Most of her conversations with C.C., during the year they spent looking for Lelouch, were either arguments or discussions about Lelouch. Most of that was used up now. "When do you think Lelouch is coming back?"

"My, my," C.C. said. "Impatient, aren't we?" At that moment, the door opened to reveal none other than Lelouch. "Ah, Lelouch, its good you're here. Kallen was just saying how she couldn't bear to spend another moment without you."

Kallen was left at a loss for words, which Lelouch took advantage of. "If I had known you would miss me so much I'd never have left."

"You two are a laugh riot," Kallen replied angrily.

C.C. stood up and put on her Black Knights' uniform. "It's been a while since I was out and about. You two have fun."

Kallen waited for C.C. to walk out before saying anything. "That irritating woman…," she growled.

"That's C.C. for you," Lelouch said. "So, what merits the visit?"

"I was just bored," she replied. "What did Suzaku want?"

"To apologize for our meeting," he explained. "It seems Schenizel had Suzaku followed without his knowledge."

"I see," she said, "but you shouldn't be so trusting of him. Going alone like that is dangerous. What if he tried to capture you under orders?"

"That had occurred to me," he admitted, "but Suzaku is an honorable man when he's not absorbed in his grief or rage."

"I guess so," she agreed.

"Anyway," he began, "if you're bored, I have the perfect thing." Kallen stared at him quizzically. "I said last time we should find something to do that we're both good at, so follow me." He motioned to the door. Kallen followed wordlessly.

* * *

Lelouch led Kallen to the training room, where a small number of Knightmare simulators were kept. He walked over to the device networking them and inserted a disk. "Care to see who comes out on top?"

Kallen stared at him incredulously. "You cannot be serious."

"What," he asked, "afraid you'll lose?"

Kallen couldn't turn down such a challenge. "I'm going to enjoy this," she said, a delighted grin on her face.

"I hope so," Lelouch replied, climbing into the simulator.

Kallen climbed into the adjacent one. She closed the hatch and the simulator program began. An Akatsuki load out, the standard for the simulator, came up. The terrain then loaded up, a map modeled on Japan, with underground tunnels and plenty of tall buildings. No doubt Lelouch wanted plenty of places to hide and set up traps, and these simulations were designed to be as real as possible.

She rode around for about a minute before catching sight of Lelouch. She rushed him, caught up in the thrill of the fight. That turned out to be a mistake when she came within reach. Lelouch was not as good a pilot as her, of course, but he was good with manipulating the terrain. A sword strike passed her and struck the wall of the building next to her, causing it to collapse on her. No doubt he had weakened the wall then let himself be spotted to lure her in.

"Oh my," Lelouch said mockingly, "looks like the Ace of the Black Knights has met her match."

This only made Kallen all the more determined to beat him. "Best two out of three. I'll show you a match."

The simulation began again and Kallen went on the hunt. Lelouch was being smart, and it took her almost a full five minutes to track him down. He was hiding in one of the taller buildings. Kallen decided to go for a rooftop entry, breaking through three floors to reach Lelouch. He was already on the move, but she had him now. Watching carefully, she made sure to avoid any potential traps he might have set up along his escape route. Before he could run too far she hit his leg with the Slash Harken and finished him off as he tried to get back up.

"As if the bodyguard would lose to her charge," Kallen joked.

"Still one more round to go," Lelouch reminded her.

For their final round, Lelouch went on the offensive. Kallen nearly lost to one trick or another more times than she could count. He destroyed the street beneath her at one point, managed to knock over an entire building, and shot at her from concealed locations repeatedly. The map was small, though, and he was running out of places to hide. She eventually cornered him in a parking garage.

"End of the line," Kallen said gleefully.

"I wonder," Lelouch replied.

Using his sword, he severed one of the support beams, collapsing the floor above. Kallen managed to break a gap in the floor below to avoid the debris, only to find Lelouch charging in to attack. She cursed his ability to predict things so accurately. Unable to block at such a close range, Kallen instead went for a killing blow herself, ending their match in a draw.

To Kallen's surprise, Lelouch laughed. "How about we call it a draw?"

Even though Kallen wanted to win, she found herself laughing in response. Lelouch was right; this was a fun game for them both. "Sure," she replied, "I'll cut you a break."

* * *

With their game over, Lelouch escorted Kallen back to her quarters.

"Thanks for the game," Kallen said. "It certainly was interesting."

"It was nothing," he replied. "I figured the best game we could play is one where strategy and strength both have a role. It was also nice to know that I could beat my own ace."

"Don't let it go to your head," she chided. "That would never have happened if you didn't have all those buildings to hide in."

"As if I'd face you without some sort of advantage," he countered. "There's a good reason people recognize you as our finest pilot."

Kallen blushed. "Thanks." They came upon her room. "Here it is."

"Good night," he offered, and turned to leave.

"Wait," she exclaimed, a bit more hurriedly than she intended. Lelouch turned back, and she struggled to finish. "You can come in… if you want."

Whatever reaction that statement may have had was concealed by Lelouch's mask. "Sure," he finally said.

Kallen's eyes darted down both ends of the corridor, checking to make sure no one was around. It was bad enough that she had picked up Zero's phone. She could only imagine the rumors if someone saw them entering her quarters together. Once she was sure no one was around, she opened the door. "After you."

Lelouch picked up on her behavior. "Embarrassed by me?" he joked.

"Just get in," she insisted, shoving him through the door. "I don't want rumors spreading."

As Kallen closed the door, she realized that she hadn't really thought out just why she asked Lelouch in. He set his mask on the table and turned to her. "So, now what?"

"I… uh…," Kallen said, unable to think of a good reason for inviting him in. "I don't know."

"I can think of a few things girls usually invite guys in for," Lelouch replied suggestively.

"It's nothing like that, pervert," she yelled, turning away. Suddenly, she felt Lelouch turn her head back, and without any other warning he kissed her. Even though she had kissed him before, it was quite the surprise for him to be the one to do it. Unable to form any coherent thought beyond that, she could do little but return the favor.

"Hmm," Lelouch remarked, "last time I tried that all I got was a slap."

"You didn't really mean it last time," Kallen replied, still holding him close, "and you needed that slap."

"Fair enough," he admitted. "So, as I said, now what?"

Kallen pulled him closer. "I can think of a few things."


	11. Side Trip

Kallen woke up next to Lelouch, who was still asleep. She had run the poor guy ragged, so she couldn't really blame him. Though she didn't regret it, she was surprised by how suddenly it had happened.

Checking the time, it was about 10 AM. Someone might come looking for Zero sooner or later, and it would be awkward if they found him in her quarters. She quickly put the thought out of her mind. She'd just wake him up after a quick shower, and hopefully no one would call during that time.

Unfortunately, her quick shower wasn't quite quick enough. Not ten minutes later Kallen walked out to find C.C. waiting, her smile indicating that she had yet another thing to tease Kallen with. "What the hell are you doing here?" she blurted out, nearly dropping her towel.

"Looking for Lelouch," C.C. replied calmly. "There's a meeting about the government changeover that he's been asked to attend."

Still stuck on C.C.'s presence, Kallen ignored the explanation. "How'd you get in here? I locked the door."

"I have an override code," C.C. explained. "It's a good thing I came in when I did. Wouldn't have wanted to walk in earlier and catch you two in the act."

Having passed being embarrassed by this point, Kallen just pointed at the bedroom. "He's back there."

C.C. didn't move, instead remaining focused on Kallen. "When I said to have fun last night I didn't you'd take it quite this far."

"It's not like I planned it," Kallen said defensively. "One thing led to another, is all. Besides, I thought it didn't bother you."

"It doesn't," C.C. replied. "I'm just surprised. Lelouch never really seemed interested in that sort of thing."

"Talking about me behind my back?" Both women turned to see Lelouch watching from the bedroom door, wearing the pants from his Zero outfit and carrying the rest.

"You should get cleaned up," C.C. said. "You have political matters to attend to."

"No rest for the wicked," Lelouch remarked, heading for the shower. Kallen headed for her closet once he passed.

"Did anyone see you come in here?" Kallen asked C.C.

C.C. gave a non-answer. "Worried that people will think you're sleeping with our leader?"

"Yes," Kallen replied frankly. "I can only imagine what would happen if Tamaki found out." She shuffled through her wardrobe for a regular uniform.

"You're no fun," C.C. said. After another fifteen minutes of idle banter and questions from C.C. about their night together which Kallen refused to answer, Lelouch finally stepped out. C.C. pitched him his mask, which had been left on the table. "Ready?"

"Let's go," Lelouch replied. He took a moment to smile apologetically at Kallen before putting the mask on. With that, he walked out with C.C.

No sooner than when the door closed, a voice came from behind her. "I thought they'd never leave."

Kallen whirled to find Todd behind her, leaning against the wall. "How long have you been there?"

"A few minutes," Todd responded.

"I see," she said. "Where have you been, and why are you here now?"

"I was looking for someone," he explained, "or rather looking for a group of them." He pulled out a necklace with a small triangular crystal hanging from it and tossed it to Kallen. "Put this on, we have matters to attend to."

Kallen didn't immediately comply, instead questioning the order. "What 'matters' would that be?"

"You remember how you found me, correct?" he asked. Kallen nodded. "The people who did it are looking for me so they can finish the job they started."

"I've seen what you can do," she pointed out. "What possible help could I be?"

"You can help in two ways," he began. "First, these people possess devices that dampen or negate most of my abilities. You're a good fighter and I'm going to need the help. Two, I did not grant this wish of yours just out of gratitude. I still haven't recovered fully, and they have devices which can track me. The changes you're making to the timeline disrupt those devices."

"So you used me?" Kallen replied angrily, though it didn't faze Todd.

"Yes and no," he said, keeping a straight face. "I could have randomly changed history by myself to hide, but I felt giving you the chance to make some good of it would be better."

That appeased Kallen somewhat, so she put the necklace on. "Where are these people, then?"

"You'll see," he replied cryptically as he snapped his fingers.

* * *

A moment later, Kallen found herself standing among modern Britannian architecture. For a moment, she thought she was in the Tokyo Settlement, but the scenery was wrong. "Where are we?" she asked.

"Britannia," Todd replied, "specifically somewhere in the Midwest portion of the mainland."

"Wait a minute, Britannia?" Kallen exclaimed. "Are you crazy? I'm an enemy soldier!"

"The necklace projects a field which changes your appearance," he explained. "Now, the people we're looking for should be within a few blocks."

Kallen held up the necklace for a bit. Sure enough, the people around them didn't seem bothered. "Who are these people, anyway," she asked, "and why are they after you?"

"It's a long story," he said. "I am not from this universe. I am from another, and can travel between universes as I wish. In one universe, a totalitarian government controlled the entire planet through a book that foretold the future. I'm not sure how it came to be, but it was used by those in charge to gain power. When I showed up and learned about it, I upset the chain of events the book detailed, quite publicly I might add."

Kallen was lost, but focused on the simple parts. "Why would you do such a thing?"

"It's one thing to use knowledge of the future to make things better," Todd began, "I have no problem with that. Using it to control the masses just bothers me." He got back to his original explanation. "Suffice it to say that they were not pleased about my meddling. They had already been doing research into time travel to make more books like the original, so it didn't take them long to follow me."

"And that led to the stabbing," she guessed.

"Eventually," he confirmed, "and only because they caught me off-guard when I was leaving their world."

"So," Kallen said, moving to the matter at hand, "where are they?"

"As I said, they're within a few blocks," he repeated. He pulled a pistol from his pocket and passed it to Kallen. "You'll probably need that." He pulled a second from his other pocket for himself.

"You want me to kill them?" she asked in a startled tone.

"No," he replied, "they're loaded with tranquilizers. I can't leave them here and killing only riles these people up."

Accepting that, Kallen spent the next hour or so searching with Todd. They eventually came upon a back-alley loading dock guarded by the men Todd described. He wasted no time firing upon them, taking both out.

"Someone is going to notice us assaulting strangers in broad daylight," she pointed out.

"They're just as interested in remaining unseen as we are," Todd replied, sweeping his hand to illustrate the empty alley. He leaned down to examine the unconscious men, removing a small device on each of their belts. Their bodies disappeared. Sensing Kallen's upcoming question, he explained. "Anchor devices," he said, holding up one device. "Imagine it like a bungee cord: once you get far enough you spring back. The portal which sent them here is designed to drag them back anyone that passes through it to prevent people from becoming stranded. These devices keep that from happening."

Not willing to become any more confused than she already was, Kallen went along with the plan. She was getting to save Lelouch, after all, so she could help. They moved from floor to floor, taking out at least twenty more people. The fifth floor, strangely, was empty. Their search eventually led them to a massive room near the back, dominated by a ring containing a swirling vortex similar to the small one Todd made in his palm when they first met.

Todd walked over to the control panel to the side of the ring. "I'm not sure if there are more of them, but it won't matter once I shut this off. They'll all be sent back at once and won't be able to return." Todd spent a few minutes typing, when out of nowhere a three-pronged dart pierced Todd in the back. To her surprise, he didn't react in pain, merely staring at the offending projectile. "Crap," he said, and collapsed.

Kallen whirled in the direction of the shot, where a white-haired man holding a gun stood. "I've been waiting a long time to catch that man," he said triumphantly.

Kallen leveled her gun at the stranger while checking Todd's pulse with her other hand. It wasn't a normal pulse, but it was there at least. "Who are you" she asked.

"Just a man who wants that meddler dead," he explained. "That stake won't kill him, but once we get him back to our world we'll be able to do it properly."

"I won't let you do that," Kallen insisted. "This man is helping me save a life."

"You don't have a choice," he replied. "This weapon only has one shot, but there are still ten men left in this building and they'll be here in a few minutes."

Kallen surveyed the room, looking for anything that might help. There was a bunch of equipment which was too bulky to be useful, and nothing remotely resembling a weapon. She then heard Todd's voice, barely a whisper. "Yellow button." Her eyes shifted to the control panel Todd was working on. One of the buttons on the side opposite her was blinking yellow. Stepping over Todd, she moved to the button.

"What are you doing?" the stranger asked.

"Todd said that this is connected to the devices that allow you to stay here," she said, "so I'm going to start pushing buttons." The stranger just stared, so she started with the blinking one. The stranger seemed to flicker a bit, which he noticed with no small amount of worry. By the time the stranger stepped forward, he vanished. He was followed by the equipment in the room.

"Ow," Todd suddenly said, standing up and stretching.

"Are you ok?" Kallen asked.

"It's just a time-release sedative dart," he replied. "Counteracting it was simple enough. Time to go back."

Kallen looked around the empty room. "So that's it then?"

"I set the machine to disable their anchors, and then collapse the vortex," he explained. "They followed me here, but with the vortex collapsed they won't be able to come back for a long time. I'll have moved on well before that. Thanks for the help." With that, he snapped his fingers.

* * *

Kallen was alone in her room. The clock had the exact same time as when she left. She couldn't quite wrap her head around what just happened, and upon consideration figured it was probably for the best. Todd's tone suggested such bothersome side trips were likely over, so she could focus on what was to come. In a month or so, Schenizel's Damocles fortress would be finished, and this time, assuming things continued on as they were, he'd have Britannia backing him instead of the Black Knights. For the immediate future, though, she could enjoy her time with Lelouch.


	12. A Short Break

Kallen figured Lelouch's meetings would probably run for most of the day. After some breakfast, she began to wander aimlessly. Her first stop was the hanger deck. Rakshata and her team were working on the Lancelot. Kallen had damaged it pretty badly, so they were stripping it for parts at the moment. She decided not to bother them. No doubt Rakshata was happy to get her hands on one of Lloyd's creations.

Deciding to leave Rakshata be, Kallen continued to wander. She froze in her tracks when she heard Tamaki's unmistakably boisterous voice. "Hey, Kallen," he said, "where are you going?"

"Just wandering," she replied. She hoped he hadn't found out about her and Lelouch. She'd never hear the end of it.

Tamaki patted her on the back a little too enthusiastically. "The Knight of Seven, the Knight of Three, and even the Knight of One; way to show Britannia who's boss."

"Uh, thanks," she offered, not terribly fond of extended conversation with Tamaki.

He leaned in closer to whisper. "Did you hear about Zero?"

She didn't like where this was going. "Hear what?"

"He wasn't in his room this morning," Tamaki explained, "C.C. had to go looking for him."

"So what?" Kallen said, trying to keep her voice level. "Maybe he was just working somewhere else."

Tamaki shook his head. "We called him on the main intercom first. He would have come if he had heard it." Tamaki lowered his voice even further. "The way I hear it, he was in someone else's quarters." He punctuated that thought with a few pokes from his elbow.

"That's ridiculous," she managed to reply; "he was probably just caught up in his work."

"I think he's been fooling around-," Tamaki began, only to be cut off by a sudden whack to the head from a familiar yellow plush toy.

"It's not nice to spread rumors," said C.C. calmly, her Cheese-kun doll in one hand and several Pizza Hut box under her arm.

"Why you…," he tried to say, only to get another whack from the Cheese-kun doll. C.C. then shoved him into a nearby room before he could recover and locked the door. Tamaki pounded on the door angrily, shouting a string of somewhat muffled insults.

"That's not his room," Kallen pointed out. "He won't be able to open the door."

"There's a phone in there," C.C. replied, "and someone's bound to hear him with all that yelling."

Kallen sighed and looked at the pizza boxes. "Do you really need that much pizza?"

"Of course," C.C. stated. "Hungry?"

"Sure," Kallen replied, taking the offer and following C.C. back to Lelouch's quarters. In the span of one night she had managed to make it a complete mess. "You do this on purpose just to annoy Lelouch, don't you?"

"It's his room," C.C. noted, "I'm not cleaning it." Kallen took a slice and began eating, only to nearly choke when C.C. asked her a question. "Ready to talk about last night yet?"

"No," Kallen vehemently insisted, "stop asking."

"Boring girl," C.C. pouted. "I'll get Lelouch to tell me later, then."

"Hmph, whatever," Kallen said dismissively before finishing her slice of pizza. "What do you think is going to happen now, with Japan under our control?"

"Who knows," C.C. replied. "As long as Lelouch lives, it doesn't really matter."

"Japan being free means nothing to you?" Kallen asked.

"Empires rise and fall," C.C. explained, "there are no exceptions. I've been alive long enough to see it happen. It simply doesn't concern me."

"I don't know if I should take that as a good thing or a bad thing," Kallen mused.

"Either works," C.C. offered. "At least you can be happy that Japan is free."

"Yeah," Kallen agreed, "there's that." She grabbed another slice of pizza. C.C had already finished off an entire box. "Where do you keep it all?"

"Unlike you, I can eat as much as I want," C.C. teased. Kallen just gave her a glare and continued eating.

"Thanks for the meal," Kallen said once she had finished. She stood up to leave.

"You owe me for the part you ate," C.C. said behind her. Kallen ignored the comment and waved as she walked out.

* * *

Kallen spent the next few hours doing busy work. She ran diagnostic tests on the Guren, hounded constantly by Rakshata for details on every change. She was not happy about Lloyd and Cecile messing with her baby. Once those were finally done, she headed back for her room. With nothing better to do, she started reading some of her books, eventually falling asleep on the couch.

A voice woke her from her slumber. Kallen eyes opened to find Lelouch staring at her. She jumped back in surprise. "Why doesn't anyone knock?"

"I did," Lelouch said defensively, "but you didn't answer. I figured you wouldn't mind."

Kallen smiled. "Well, it isn't an unwanted visit, I suppose. How'd the meeting go?"

"The usual," Lelouch replied vaguely. "There's nothing significant to say about it. That's not why I came."

"I see," Kallen said, sensing where this was going. "It's about last night then."

"Yes," Lelouch replied hesitantly. "I…" Kallen moved to silence him.

"You don't regret it, do you?" she asked.

"Of course not," he insisted, "I just didn't mean for it to go quite that fast, is all."

Kallen forced him to sit down. "It's not exactly how I imagined my first time, either, but that doesn't matter. We both had a good time, as I recall."

Lelouch laughed. "We sure did. However, there's still the matter of our relationship being inappropriate. We're soldiers, after all. The leader isn't supposed to fraternize with his subordinates."

Kallen frowned and gave him a stern look. "You're not talking your way out of this that easily. I'm already the captain of your personal bodyguards. You can't exactly promote me any higher than that. Also, people already know we're close. I imagine some already think more than that."

"There's just no arguing with you about this, is there?" he asked.

"No," she stated matter-of-factly, "you're stuck with me now." Kallen decided to switch the topic to something else. "What do you plan to do now that we control Japan?"

Lelouch seemed to be glad to take the chance to change the subject. "That depends on Britannia. They're not likely to attack unless Schenizel makes a move."

"There's also FLEIJA to worry about," she noted.

"Ah, yes," he said, "the bomb has been sent off for study. Even if it can't be duplicated, hopefully some sort of countermeasure can be developed."

"And if not?" she inquired.

"Then our battles are going to become much more difficult," he mused. Kallen frowned at that comment. "We'll find a way, though," he said to reassure her. "Whatever it takes, we'll make this world better."

Kallen leaned over and gave Lelouch a kiss on the cheek. "Though I'd like to go further, you should probably get some sleep. You're probably going to be attending a lot of meetings in the next few days."

Lelouch seemed disappointed, but agreed. "You're right, goodnight Kallen."

* * *

A month passed and things went smoothly for the most part. Once power had been formally handed over in Japan, Nunnally stayed on as an ambassador. Schenizel eventually reported the Emperor as missing and took power in his absence. Suzaku went back to the mainland soon after. Kallen wasn't quite sure why, though she suspected he simply couldn't stand working with Zero. No doubt he'd rush back onto the field with the upgraded Lancelot once he got his hands on it.

Kallen had an unfortunate encounter with Rolo during that time. He had finally made an attempt on Nunnally's life, which happened to coincide with one of Kallen's visits. Lelouch had seen it coming, though, and Jeremiah derailed his attempt. To her surprise, Lelouch did not kill Rolo. Instead, he used his Geass to render Rolo incapable of killing anyone or using his Geass. Rolo was left at Ashford after that.

The FLEIJA bomb had also been used, this time in Russia during an attack on the Chinese Federation. Thankfully, the targeted area was sparsely populated to begin with, so the casualties were minimal. Fighting had mostly ceased after that. Countermeasures to the weapon were slow in coming, since its esoteric design made adapting conventional countermeasures nearly impossible.

* * *

Kallen was in the middle of a chess game with Lelouch. He insisted on trying to teach her some strategy, though he wasn't having much luck in that regard. "You'd think after a few weeks you'd be able to last a little longer against me," he said, putting her in checkmate once again.

Kallen tipped over her king with her index finger. "I'm better at games where I can hit things."

"Maybe later," Lelouch replied jokingly. As he set up the pieces, the phone rang. He picked it up and after a short string of acknowledgements put it back down. "Seems there's something on TV we should see."

Lelouch turned on the TV and flipped to one of the Britannian news channels. To both his and Kallen's surprise, it was reporting Suzaku's ascension to Knight of One. The program eventually repeated the previous details. Schenizel had taken the throne, finally declaring the Emperor legally dead after a month's absence.

"Why now?" Kallen asked. Lelouch had also waited a month, but his takeover of the empire required a bit more effort. Schenizel actually had a legitimate claim to the throne.

"If he's waited this long," Lelouch began, "there must be some aspect of his plan that only recently came into place. We've gotten intelligence reports about the Toromo Institution of Cambodia. They're building something there, something big. I imagine it's probably done, or close to it."

"Then we should probably get back to Japan," Kallen suggested. "If Suzaku managed to convince Schenizel to make him Knight of One, Japan is where he's likely to go first."

"Hmm," Lelouch said thoughtfully, "perhaps these strategy lessons haven't been a complete waste."

"Just don't expect me to fill in for you," she joked.

"I'll be sure to remember that," he replied, picking up the phone and dialing. "Xingke, this is Zero. We need to head back to Japan."


	13. Damocles Battle

A week after they arrived in Japan, Schenizel made his move. The Damocles came in from the north coast, obliterating the city of Wakkanai in a show of force. The Black Knights were given an hour to surrender.

In the conference room, Ohgi was the first to speak. "If we fight Schenizel, the casualties will be immeasurable." He picked up a report and slid it down the table from his seat at the far end. "That FLEIJA was ten times more effective than the one used before. We may have no choice but to surrender."

"Surrender is not an option," Lelouch insisted. "If we lose this battle, Schenizel will use the Damocles to quell any resistance to his rule. Such a weapon can only be used to scare the masses into obedience."

"I concur," Xingke said. "Surrendering to FLEIJA would be to condone its use. It cannot be tolerated."

"Then how do you propose we stop Schenizel?" Ohgi said. "Any attempt to approach Damocles will end in disaster."

"There is a way," Lelouch began. "Though we do not have any viable countermeasures to FLEIJA, Rakshata has been working on the original warhead. She's managed to modify its yield to a significantly smaller radius. A small team could use the modified warhead to neutralize a single shot from Damocles, and then enter before they have a chance to recover. From there we can destroy it from the inside."

"If they fail it will be a one-way trip," Tohdoh pointed out.

"Which is why I will execute the mission with Squad Zero," Lelouch responded. "The rest of our pilots will be needed to hold off the Britannian forces escorting the Damocles." Ohgi seemed hesitant, but nodded in consent.

"If there's no other business, our meeting is concluded," Xingke stated. "We'll use the time Schenizel has given us to prepare our assault."

* * *

On the hanger deck, Kallen walked over to the Shinkiro, where Lelouch was supervising the installation of the FLEIJA launcher. "Are you sure you want to lead this mission yourself?" Kallen asked.

"Positive," Lelouch replied. "This will require precision timing, and I can't trust anyone else to do it."

"What happens once we get on board?" she inquired.

"I'll capture Schenizel while you take out the weapons and Float System," he explained. "Once it's disabled, the Damocles will sink into the Pacific Ocean and be crushed by the depths."

"It might just be easier to sink the Damocles with Schenizel on it," Kallen pointed out.

"We can't take that chance," Lelouch insisted. "If he escapes, Damocles will be rebuilt and this will start all over again. It has to end here."

"Just don't take any unnecessary risks," she said.

"The same goes for you, Kallen," he countered. "Suzaku and that new Lancelot of his will undoubtedly be there to try and stop us. Don't let him get the better of you."

"Wouldn't dream of it," she responded confidently, despite knowing that he had fought her to a standstill last time. Even if it took everything she had, she'd be sure to come out on top here.

* * *

The two armies met above the Pacific. Lelouch had the fleet positioned to make sure the Britannian forces would have to engage them, keeping Schenizel from firing, at least at first.

After several attempted strategies by both Schenizel and Lelouch, the Black Knights went on the offensive. Xingke was battling Gino, managing to hold his own. C.C. and the remaining Holy Swords were attempting to defeat the Mordred, which resisted all attempts to breach its defenses. Finally, Jeremiah was attacking Suzaku. The Sutherland Sieg's superior reaction time allowed him to keep up, but his weapons were woefully inadequate compared to the Albion's. Nevertheless, the two fleets began to wear away at one another.

Kallen waited with Lelouch near the Ikaruga, waiting for an opening in the enemy line. Using its bow-mounted Hadron Cannons, the Ikaruga opened that path, wiping out scores of Knightmares in the process. Once the blast cleared, Kallen and Lelouch headed for their target with the leading members of Squad Zero on their wing.

Once they passed the bulk of the fleet, Lelouch's voice came over the comm. "Everyone get ready, there's a fluctuation in the Damocles' shielding near the launcher. It must be preparing to fire." Sure enough, the missile came, and a moment later Lelouch's own was fired to intercept.

Kallen readied herself to turn and grab Lelouch if necessary. They were already in FLEIJA's effective range, so the only hope for either of them would be to flee at full speed if the larger warhead was able to detonate. She watched as the two missiles closed in to one another. Lelouch's went off first, followed shortly by the other. That was more than enough time, though. The suppressed warhead detonation disrupted the main blast, creating a 500 meter blast that only served to accelerate them.

Lelouch used the Shinkiro's shields to jam the Damocles' shield system, enabling Squad Zero to get through. Kallen blasted a hole in the hull, and they entered through it. Upon locating the nearest control room, Lelouch accessed the ship's schematics and distributed them to the team. "You have your targets. Spread out and destroy them." Everyone responded in unison and broke off.

Kallen simply blasted her way through the hull again to get outside. Once she reached the launcher, she fired three energy disks into it, targeting the barrel and rotating mechanisms to insure that it wouldn't be able to move. As she moved to hit the Float System, she was a Knightmare pass through the shields. A quick zoom revealed it to be the Albion. At his height, the only target he could be heading for was Lelouch.

Following Suzaku in, Kallen found him engaged with the Shinkiro, pounding on its defensive barrier. It wouldn't hold up for much longer, so she closed in to attack, forcing him to bring up his shield to block.

"Go," she yelled at Lelouch, "I'll handle Suzaku."

"Thank you, Kallen," he responed, moving off once more."

"Wait," Suzaku commanded, trying to shift his position to attack Lelouch again. Kallen shifted accordingly to keep him in place.

"The only way you're reaching him is through me," she stated. "The Damocles can no longer fire its weapon. You've lost this battle."

"If Zero is captured then we win," Suzaku responded, backing up to make room to attack.

Kallen positioned herself near the hull breach for a quick escape. "You would take the freedom of Japan after it just got it back?" she asked. "You would condone the use of FLEIJA after telling me that it shouldn't be used?"

"I'm the Knight of One," Suzaku answered. "This territory will be mine to control once it is under Britannian rule once more. Japan will remain free. FLEIJA will maintain the peace. It will never need to be fired."

"You're naive," she countered, "Schenizel will use this weapon to destroy any resistance. Millions will die."

"And as Zero exists the fighting will not end," he replied. "At least under Britannia there will be peace."

"I can see this isn't going to go anywhere," she noted, readying the radiant surge arm, "so now I'm going to take you down."

"Then I have no choice but to do the same," he said, readying his VARIS rifle.

Suzaku fired first, and Kallen dodged his shots, breaking for the breach so she could maneuver freely. Suzaku followed, continuing to fire shots from his rifle. Kallen alternated between dodging and blocking until she managed to close in. Using her Slash Harkens, she knocked the rifle from his grasp, destroying it, and followed with a long-range burst. Suzaku blocked that and drew his swords for close combat.

Kallen drew her fork knife and matched him, blocking one sword while going for the other with the radiant surge. He kept it out of her grasp, aware of her intent. When they broke their stalemate, he fired the Slash Harkens on his wrists. She smacked one aside with her knife and dodged the other, moving back in. She fired a long-range blast, which his shield deflected.

As they moved in for another clash, Suzaku concentrated his attack on Kallen's fork knife, managing to break it. She fired the Slash Harkens in response, catching one of his swords. They traded blows at high speed, bouncing around the superstructure of the Damocles. Finally, he managed to break their stalemate, chopping off one of her wings. Kallen returned the favor, breaking off one of his with her left hand while seizing and melting the remaining sword with the right.

The two drifted to the solid deck on the Damocles. Kallen didn't waste any time continuing her assault, using the radiant surge to boost herself off the deck and into a spin kick mimicking Suzaku's. She connected with his head, knocking the Albion to the deck below.

Kallen cursed herself for letting the battle play out in a similar way. She wouldn't be able to fly to safety now. That was a problem for later, though. Suzaku was still in the way, and she needed to stop him if this mission was to succeed.

Kallen skated to the edge of the deck and fired a wide range blast, hoping to overwhelm Suzaku's defenses. To her chagrin, the larger shields on the Albion provided sufficient cover to protect the entire Knightmare. He responded by rolling p the narrow corridors to close the gap between them.

The two traded blow after blow, Suzaku's shield managing to hold off every attack she threw at him. Once she was down to a single round, she held off. She could use it in a surprise attack later on. She closed in for close combat, chasing Suzaku up the superstructure.

Kallen eventually managed to push Suzaku into a corner. He used his Slash Harkens to grab the wall and push off, moving into his trademark spinning kick. Kallen spun with him, grabbing his leg with the radiant surge and using his own momentum to throw him away while frying his leg with her last round. He ejected it, but his Knightmare hit the ground and toppled over.

Now that Suzaku was disabled, Kallen moved in for the finishing blow. She fired her Slash Harkens first, aiming for his head, but he blocked with the ones on his arm. The third on his leg also fired, but she managed to dodge. Closing the distance between them, Kallen stepped on his hands to keep him in place while moving the focusing rods on the radiant surge into melee position. With one swift move, she crushed the Albion's head. At the same moment, Suzaku ejected, and the Albion went critical.

Kallen didn't have enough time to back off completely, so the explosion took its toll. Power was failing, and the force of the explosion had jarred her from her seat, causing her to hit her head pretty hard. It also knocked her Knightmare off the deck, and she was now in freefall. Kallen tried desperately to save herself, but the Slash Harkens wouldn't activate. Her vision began to blur, and for a moment she thought she saw a shadow on her screen. That, however, went out with the power, and she followed it soon after.

* * *

Kallen awoke on her bed, confused. She wondered if it was a dream, but the pilot suit she was still wearing and the pain in her head when she sat up told her otherwise. A hand shoved her back to the bed. "Lie down," Lelouch said, "you suffered a mild concussion."

"Lelouch?" Kallen asked rhetorically. Suddenly realizing what she had been doing, she tried to sit up again, but his hand kept her firmly in place. "What happened with the Damocles? Is it gone?"

"Yes," he confirmed. "Schenizel activated the self-destruct sequence during his escape attempt. I managed to head him off and used my Geass to force his surrender. You're very lucky I left when I did, I just barely caught you after I saw you plummeting to your death."

"Suzaku got me with a cheap shot," she complained. "He ejected and the Lancelot exploded."

"Sore loser," he said teasingly. "Don't worry; we recovered his cockpit, so he didn't fare any better than you."

"So it's really over then?" Kallen asked.

"Hopefully," Lelouch said. "With Schenizel in our hands, Britannia will have to negotiate. We may be able to finally bring peace. Also, I learned from Schenizel that the entire stock of FLEIJA warheads was moved to the Damocles. That weapon will never be used again."

"I'm glad," she replied. Surveying her surroundings, Kallen wondered what she was doing in her room in the first place. "If I suffered a concussion, why am I here? Shouldn't I be in the infirmary?"

"The battle was costly for both sides," he explained. "The medics had to prioritize the seriously wounded. They took you back here to rest."

"And you offered to monitor my condition?" she pointed out with a smile.

"But of course," he replied, "otherwise I wouldn't have the chance to gloat about saving you." Before she could say anything in response, he put his finger to her lips. "Now get some rest."

Kallen still felt tried, so she brought her hand up in a mock salute. "Yes, sir." Lelouch just smiled and showed himself out. As she let sleep take her, Kallen silently praised her luck. No more Damocles, the Britannian Empire at their mercy, and Lelouch still leading them; things had turned out better than she could have hoped.


	14. One Last Strike

Kallen's earlier assessment of the situation turned out to be a little too optimistic. A mere twenty minutes after she fell asleep she was awoken by a violent tremor and the sound of alarms. Her first thought was to rush to the Guren, but then she remembered that it was in no condition to go anywhere, and neither was she for that matter. Still, she wasn't about to wait in her room.

After taking some pain medication Lelouch had left for her, Kallen made her way to the bridge. Everyone was absorbed in their work, and the screen showed that the Britannian forces had regrouped. They were attacking in full-force again, and judging by the display had come out of the previous battle with enough forces to match those of the Black Knights.

Lelouch, standing at the command position, turned upon noticing her. "You should be resting," he said, concern mixed with anxiety from commanding the battle.

"Never mind that, "Kallen insisted. "Why are they attacking?"

"Schenizel's last card," Lelouch explained, "in case we captured him. They've been ordered to ignore all attempts at communication and destroy this ship. He believes that once we're both dead, peace will arise from the ashes."

"Can I help?" she asked.

"I'm afraid not," he replied, shaking his head. "Right now, just take a seat." Kallen frowned, but didn't argue the point, taking a seat on one of the couches.

Kallen observed the radar screen, taking in the whole battle. The Britannians were short their Knight of One and their biggest trump card, but that wasn't stopping them from trying. Gino was fighting with Xingke again, though the radar screen didn't give much as to their status, and Anya was fighting with Tohdoh and the Holy Swords. C.C. and Jeremiah were engaging the main Britannian forces with the rest of the standard units, destroying all in their path.

While the Knightmare forces were managing to hold their own, the same could not be said for the carriers. All of them were targeting the Ikaruga, one volley after another hammering the radiation barriers. The Hadron Cannons were still recharging, so they could only rely on the other carriers to keep from being overwhelmed.

After a particularly powerful explosion, Ayame Futaba announced the shield status. "Forward radiation barriers at 50%. At this rate they'll fail in a few minutes."

"At least we're over the ocean," Rakshata mused. "The ship will float."

Lelouch's voice suddenly came from behind. "Prepare to submerge the ship."

"The radiation barriers won't function underwater," Ayame pointed out.

"And their weapons be unable to reach us," Lelouch finished.

"We're going to run?" Ohgi asked. "What about our allies?"

"If we stay in this battle, the Britannian carriers will shoot us down," Lelouch explained. "We can't help our allies if we're dead. Once the Ikaruga is out of the fight, the Britannians will no longer be able to target it exclusively. They'll be forced to either defeat the remainder of our forces or return with specialized equipment. Either way, this battle will go much more smoothly." Before Ohgi could voice any further objections, Lelouch continued. "Launch any viable Knightmares before we dive. I'll take the Shinkiro out as well. Ohgi, you're in command of the ship." Ohgi nodded in consent.

Kallen followed Lelouch off the bridge. "Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked. "There's still two Knights of the Round out there."

"They're occupied," Lelouch stated, "and the Shinkiro will be able to take out some of those carrier ships."

"But still," Kallen protested, "the last time you went out without me I found you tied up and under attack by the Knight of Ten."

"Even so," Lelouch said, "you can't help me this time." He put his hand to her cheek. "Don't worry about me. You've already taken out most of the Knights of the Round. The remaining ones aren't going to be enough to stop us. Once the Britannians lose this battle, they'll never be able to reach Schenizel. They'll have to negotiate."

The elevator stopped at the hanger, so Lelouch turned to head for his Knightmare. "At least call in C.C. for support," Kallen advised.

Lelouch sighed. "If you insist." Kallen waited for him to depart before returning to the bridge.

* * *

Kallen's return to the bridge was marked by a small shudder as the ship hit the water. As they dived, the fire from above slowed and eventually ceased, their weapons diffused by the ocean. Ohgi ordered the ship to retreat to a safe distance anyway.

The radar screen was still active, now being fed data by the Chinese command carrier. Lelouch was doing as he said he would, using the Shinkiro's forward cannon to fire pinpoint laser bursts at key points on the enemy carriers. However, even though it was going well, Kallen felt like she should be there helping.

"Does not being able to fight really bother you that much?" Ohgi asked, having moved up to the command position to speak with her, out of earshot of the others.

"Yes," she stated plainly.

"Is it because you want to help up win or because he's out there?" Ohgi inquired, not quite hiding his disapproving tone.

"Both," she said, casting a disapproving glance of her own in response. "You still don't trust him, even after everything he's done?"

"How can I, after everything he's kept from us and done behind our backs?" he insisted. "He would throw us away if we became useless."

"The only way that would happen is if we betrayed him first," Kallen responded, thinking back to the original betrayal.

"What do you mean 'first'?" Ohgi said incredulously. "He already betrayed us, engineering fake miracles with his Geass to win us over."

"That's not betrayal," she noted. "Leaving us during the Black Rebellion was a betrayal. Using his Geass is just keeping the truth to himself. He grew up in a world where people couldn't be trusted."

"It's still faking miracles," he pointed out.

"Magic tricks are just smoke and mirrors," she began, "but it's still a magic trick either way. So what if he used his Geass? Does that make his feats any less miraculous? No one can do what he does, and if you believe we could have gotten anywhere without him, then you're deluding yourself."

"We wouldn't be where we are without him, I won't deny that," he offered, "but we're not some poorly-funded group of terrorists anymore. We're an army. We don't need him now."

Kallen scoffed. "It's exactly that kind of thinking that would damn us all." Ohgi looked like he wanted to object, but Kallen continued before he could. She knew full well she was right. "There are only two people on this planet who can match Zero. One is Xingke, who's out there fighting against Britannia right now. However, he's still no Zero. The other is Schenizel, who's sitting in our brig. Make no mistake; Zero would fight for his goals with or without us. If we got in his way, you'd learn very quickly just how dangerous an opponent he would be." The short speech brought back bitter memories, memories she had tried to forget.

"You speak as if you've seen it happen," Ohgi noted. "Do you really think so highly of him?"

"I just know him," Kallen replied, trying to cover for her oddly-specific explanation, "and on the contrary, you simply don't want to see that what I'm saying is right."

"Maybe you're right," he admitted, "but that doesn't change what he's done."

"Are we any better?" she said.

"Of course," Ohgi insisted. "All those he's manipulated, all the lives he's deliberately ruined, there's nothing we've done that's so evil."

"You're half-right," Kallen corrected. "We haven't manipulated people like him, but we've ruined just as many lives. Do you remember what we were doing the day Zero came to us?"

Ohgi paused for a bit to recall, and then answered somewhat reluctantly. "Stealing poison gas."

"Exactly," she said. "We may not have been as subtle about it, but we could have ended just as many lives were it not for his intervention." That wasn't technically true. C.C. was in that capsule, so they'd have just let her out. They didn't know that at the time, though, and Ohgi still didn't.

"I'm not going to win this argument, am I?" he said in defeat.

"No," she stated plainly, "but if it makes you feel any better I understand why you're so unwilling to trust him. It's a big pill to swallow."

"You two might want to look at this," Rakshata suddenly said. Both stared up at the screen.

The Britannian forces were in retreat. Kallen hadn't quite counted, but it seemed as if they had less cruisers. It seemed Lelouch had done as he said he would. She checked over the other participants. Lelouch and C.C. were up, as were the Holy Swords and Jeremiah. However, she couldn't see either Tohdoh or Xingke. Kallen inquired about their status.

"The Zangetsu was destroyed by the Mordred," Rakshata explained, "but Tohdoh ejected. The Shenhu was damaged during the battle with the Tristan and had to land."

"How did the Knights of the Round fair?" Kallen asked.

"They retreated with the rest of the Britannians," Rakshata said. "Neither was damaged."

"Surface so we can collect our forces," Ohgi ordered.

* * *

Kallen returned to her room after everything had settled down. She had failed to read the instructions next to the pain medication, which also contained a slow-acting sedative, so she was fairly tired by the time she got back.

The next day Kallen oversaw the transfer of the prisoners to the jail in the Tokyo Settlement with Lelouch. Schenizel and Suzaku were there, of course, but what surprised her was the presence of Nina, Lloyd, and his assistant, the latter likely the "Cecile" who contributed to her Guren. Rakshata had insisted on keeping them on board to discuss various issues. She noticed that Nina looked rather sullen. She had regretted making the bomb before, and probably did now. Still, she thought better of approaching Nina about the subject. It would be better to let her come around of her own accord.

The trip to the prison was fairly uneventful, mostly filled with back and forth banter between Lelouch and Schenizel. With no position left to argue from, Schenizel had become fairly amenable to making strides toward peace, which would be hammered out in actual negotiations later. Suzaku remained silent throughout the affair, apparently unwilling to continue voicing his disdain for Zero's methods now that they had worked.

On their way back, she was finally able to talk with Lelouch. "We've really won, haven't we?"

"The fighting is over," Lelouch confirmed. "Even though the Britannians will resist doing so, they'll have no choice now but to start making concessions."

"Finally," she said with a sigh of relief, "we can have normal lives again."

"Yeah," he replied in a somewhat distant tone.

"What is it?" Kallen asked, picking up on his inflection.

"Nothing," Lelouch replied unconvincingly. "It's just that, I wonder if I deserve it, after everything I've done."

Kallen was grateful that they were alone, which had allowed Lelouch to take off his mask. She bonked him on his head lightly. "Don't start with that. Everyone deserves the chance to be happy. You may have done terrible things, but you've also done great things. If anyone deserves a chance at a normal life, it's you." Kallen couldn't tell if that had convinced him or not, so she moved closer and wrapped her arm around him. "Besides, you asked me to come back to Ashford with you back in the Chinese Federation. You can't back out now."

Lelouch returned the gesture, pulling her closer. "I'll do my best to keep that promise." Kallen was content with that, though Lelouch did have a point about doing terrible things. Ohgi and the others had put aside their issues with him because he got results, but now that he no longer had a need to keep doing so, they might want retribution for his crimes. Not wanting to dwell on it, she pushed the thought out of her mind and laid her head on Lelouch's shoulder, just wanting to enjoy the moment.


	15. Aftermath

Over the next month, the UFN and Britannia worked out the terms of Britannia's surrender. Other arrangements included the abolishment of Britannia's discriminatory laws and the release of many foreign prisoners. Not all Britannians had taken the changes well, and more than a few incidents of violence were reported in the Areas shortly after they were freed, but for the most part people fell in line.

Schenizel was eventually released as part of the Britannians' demands. Despite his destruction of an entire city as a show of force, he could not be held accountable for much else, and releasing him was a small price to get the Britannians to give up so much. Lelouch didn't let him go without insurance, though. With the help of Jeremiah's Geass Canceller, Lelouch compelled him to destroy any and all documents relating to FLEIJA, ensuring he could never rebuild it. Beyond that, Schenizel agreed to maintain the peace.

Lloyd, Cecile, and Nina ended up working alongside Rakshata, in part because it kept Nina, FLEIJA's inventor, out of the hands of those who might have her build it again. Kallen had walked in on them on a number of occasions, each time seeing Lloyd and Rakshata arguing. She wondered just what happened between them to make them so unfriendly around each other.

Returning Suzaku to Britannia had been refused during negotiations, on the grounds that his relation to the former Prime Minister made his fate Japan's concern. It was Kaguya who determined how he was dealt with after some long legal proceedings. As her idea of poetic justice, Suzaku was drafted into the Black Knights. He had objected, but as a prisoner he didn't have much say in the matter. For a man who had spent so long fighting his own people, she felt it appropriate that he finally be put to work for them.

In the midst of all this, Ohgi had brought the issue of Lelouch's various crimes back to the table. Ohgi, Tohdoh, Asahina, and Chiba all felt he should answer in some way. Diethard naturally stuck with Lelouch, since he had really beaten Britannia. Ultimately, the decision was in the hands of Kaguya and Xingke, neither of whom was willing to oust the man who had almost single-handedly created the UFN. Ohgi had objected, but Xingke was quick to point out that, aside from lacking any concrete evidence supporting the accusations, to expose Zero would destroy the public's faith. He was too intertwined with their alliance now to allow that to happen.

* * *

Lelouch, Kallen, and C.C. were sitting in an office in the Tokyo Settlement's government building. Kallen was helping Lelouch go through various forms spread out on a table. Two couches were on either end to sit at. C.C. was opposite them, eating pizza and refusing to help. It had been a month since everything was settled, and Japan was electing its first Prime Minister since the occupation. Ohgi was on the ticket, of course, as were two others. It would likely be another month at least before they could leave the service and finally have normal lives.

"Do you think Ohgi will win?" Kallen asked. She already knew the outcome, but she wanted to hear what Lelouch thought of it.

"He'll win," Lelouch stated as if it were fact, not bothering to look up from his paperwork. "His popularity as one of the people responsible for Japan's freedom will see to that."

That wasn't really the answer she wanted. "Do you think he's qualified?"

"Ordinarily I'd say no," he replied, "but he'll have people helping him make the right decisions. This election is more symbolic than anything, but Ohgi will learn as he goes."

Kallen knew Lelouch wasn't one to care about past mistrust, so his answer didn't surprise her. She went back to sorting the paperwork. A few minutes later, the intercom beeped.

"Zero," the secretary said, "Suzaku Kururugi is here to see you."

Lelouch sighed. "Didn't even make an appointment," he noted before pressing the speaker button. "Send him in." Suzaku walked in a moment later, standing at attention like one would expect of a model soldier. "There's no need for such formalities," Lelouch said, still focused on his paperwork. "Sit." Suzaku took a seat next to C.C. "What do you want?" Lelouch asked.

"The truth," Suzaku stated adamantly. "You've captured me, are forcing me to work for the enemy…"

"Kaguya decided your fate," Lelouch corrected, "and you're the one who decided to fight your own people. Get to the point."

"I want to know what happened with Euphy, with Shirley, and everything I asked you when we last met," Suzaku insisted.

"I answered those questions the last time," Lelouch said impassively. Kallen knew he probably hadn't told him the truth, but wasn't going to interrupt. This was something they had to work out.

"You were lying," he replied angrily, slamming a fist on the table to accentuate the point. "Tell me the truth."

Lelouch finally looked up from his paperwork to regard Suzaku. "If you know that much then why ask? What would you do if I gave you the truth? Would you let go of your hatred, forgive me for what I've done, or accept that your methods have failed?"

"My methods could have worked," Suzaku replied.

"But they didn't," Lelouch pointed out, "and they wouldn't have. Your plan was much too shortsighted and failed to consider the bigger picture. If you were willing to look beyond your own ideals, you would have seen that Britannia would not change for you. In fact, the only reason you got anywhere was because I was your opponent. Regardless, you didn't answer my question."

"Answer mine first," Suzaku countered, not bothering to dispute Lelouch's assessment.

After a long staring match, Lelouch finally spoke. "You haven't given me a reason to."

"Your ways succeeded and mine failed," Suzaku grudgingly admitted. "You've gotten everything you want and I'm stuck in a position where I can't even atone for my own sins. It's the least you can do."

"Death is not the only way to atone," Lelouch began. "You've done nothing but impede the freedom of Japan. Working for us is the best way to make up for that. As for your questions, very well, I shall tell you. Euphy's death was an accident, though no less tragic because of that. I lost control of my Geass when listing various nightmarish things I could force her to do."

"You…," Suzaku began with a hint of anger in his voice.

"I'm not done yet," Lelouch said, cutting him off. "Shirley was killed someone trying to protect me because she regained her memories. They made it look like a suicide. Before you ask, I did not tell them to do so."

"Who was it?" Suzaku inquired.

"I have no intention of telling you," Lelouch said. "That's my problem and I dealt with it in my own way."

"What about this curse you gave me?" Suzaku asked.

"I gave you the 'Live' command because you are too stupid and stubborn to be trusted with your own life," Lelouch replied quite frankly. Before Suzaku could even voice a complaint, Lelouch moved on. "You would have gotten yourself killed and me along with you just to uphold your precious rules, damning any hope Japan had of regaining its freedom in the process."

"Who gave you the right to decide how I live my life?" Suzaku growled.

"You did," Lelouch replied, "the moment you decided to let yourself die to take me with you. Those who decide to fight the enemy should be prepared for that enemy to fight back. I could just have easily ordered you to die and stolen the Lancelot for myself."

Suzaku looked like he wanted to jump across the table and strangle Lelouch, which kept Kallen on guard. "You expect me to believe all of this?" he said.

"You wanted the truth and I gave it to you," Lelouch stated plainly. "It's your choice if you want to believe it or not. Is there anything else?"

"No," Suzaku replied through gritted teeth. He stood to attention once more and left.

Once he closed the door, C.C. spoke up. "That was quite harsh, Lelouch."

"As much as Suzaku wants the truth, he also wants revenge," Lelouch explained. "He needs to work out his hatred on his own." With not much else to say on the matter, everyone went back to work, or back to the pizza in C.C.'s case.

* * *

When Kallen went out to get some food of her own, she was flagged down by Suzaku, who was serving as one of the guards in the building. "What is it?" she asked, taking him to a separate room so they could talk.

"I want to know if Lelouch is telling the truth," he explained. "He must have told you about the things he's done."

Kallen sighed. "What do you think?"

"I want to believe him," Suzaku admitted, "but he was the one who killed Euphy."

Kallen couldn't help but smirk slightly. He sounded like she did when she finally got the chance to talk to Lelouch after a year-long absence. "If you want to believe him, then believe him."

"But Euphy…," he repeated.

"Since you know the truth, what would have had him do?" Kallen posited. "If you really loved Princess Euphemia, could you have stood by and watched her continue killing the Japanese people? Would you have let her kill you instead of stopping her?" The words struck Suzaku, leaving him speechless. Kallen knew something of it herself. She had been ready to kill Lelouch the Demon Emperor, or at least she thought she was, since she never had the chance. After letting her words sink in for a bit, she continued. "Think about that for a while. Now, you should get back to your post." Suzaku just nodded and went back to his duties while she went back to Lelouch's office.

* * *

After a couple more months of work to stabilize the new government, Kallen was finally able to leave the Black Knights with Lelouch. He did one of his typically dramatic speeches as Zero to announce his departure, explaining that his presence was necessary for times of strife, and that in this era of peace, the people should learn to work things out among themselves. Of course, he made sure to note that any attempt by the strong to oppress the weak would see him return to stop it.

C.C. stayed with Lelouch, if for no other reason than lacking anywhere better to go. She had become somewhat more personable over the months. Kallen was sure part of her motive was that wanted the chance to poke fun at their relationship whenever possible. Nonetheless, Kallen didn't really mind, since having C.C. around was like having a sister. C.C. had also made it clear that she was glad Lelouch had found someone to make him happy, so Kallen didn't have much reason to be jealous that C.C. was still living with him.

Suzaku was eventually released from his duties so he could return to school. Kallen wasn't sure if he had forgiven Lelouch, but the two were civil, at least. Anya and Gino had also returned to Ashford. Anya in particular was a peculiar case, as she had somehow ended up living with Jeremiah and Sayoko on an orange farm. She wasn't sure just when they had met or what had happened to spur that arrangement. She figured that it must have been during one of Schenizel's visits to Japan.

Ohgi was elected Prime Minister of Japan as expected, and married Villetta not long after. Ohgi had been reluctant to have Lelouch at the wedding at first, but ultimately decided to bury the hatchet when Kallen insisted that she wasn't coming without him.

Nunnally had remained in politics, despite Lelouch's requests for her to return to the school, felling she could help more there. Schenizel even appointed her as Prime Minister to fill the seat he left vacant. Some had questioned the wisdom of appointing one so young to the position, but Kallen had heard from Lelouch that Schenizel didn't trust anyone else to do the job properly in peacetime.

The state of the world itself was not quite as utopian as Lelouch's methods had made it before, but it was close. The EU remnants and the freed Britannian colonies joined the UFN for protection, creating a stable balance between the two powers, if not necessarily a cooperative atmosphere. Without any wars to fight, governments were able to work on more important matters like poverty. Ohgi made sure to trade Japan's supply of sakuradite fairly to keep everyone happy.

* * *

Kallen came home from school on a day the same as any other, unpacking her books. She looked up to her bulletin board where she kept all her pictures. Suzaku was now in a recent picture with Lelouch, both finally being friendly. The one in the center, her most important picture of Lelouch, was now a picture of her and Lelouch kissing, taken in a photo booth.

"That's certainly a much nicer picture," came Todd's voice from behind her. Kallen had to stifle her own scream.

"You don't show up for months and then you sneak up on me like that?" she pointed out. "What's wrong with you?"

"It's all in good fun," he replied with a laugh, "and I didn't have any reason to show up, really."

"So, why are you here?" she asked.

"Because today's the day," he answered, "the day you met me. The day you decided to change things. I don't really see much point in offering, but you still have the chance to undo what you've done, if you want."

"You're right," she said. "There is no point in offering. This isn't quite as good as the world Lelouch made before, but it's close, and I'm happy with it."

"I thought as much," he replied with a smile.

"So can I talk about the past now that I've changed it?" she inquired.

"Sure, if you want," he said, "but I wouldn't expect anyone to believe you." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a bag of candy and threw it to Kallen. "It's for the movie," he said in response to her unspoken question. "Have fun."

Before she could inquire further, a knock on the door drew her gaze away momentarily, and in that instant Todd had vanished. She went to the door, and Lelouch was waiting there, holding two tickets in his hand.

"I thought you might like to see a movie," Lelouch said.

"I'd love to," Kallen replied. Suddenly remembering the candy, she thrust in into Lelouch's hands. "For you."

"You knew I was coming?" he asked.

"Uh, lucky guess," she offered, wrapping her arm around his. "Let's go."


End file.
